Rockland Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,269,000 after acquiring an additional 655,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after acquiring an additional 508,188 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $241.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.30. The stock has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.