Two Sigma Securities LLC Sells 3,741 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Two Sigma Securities LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 63.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,741 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $260.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $239.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.15. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.