Unigestion Holding SA Sells 70,900 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Unigestion Holding SA reduced its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 58.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70,900 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $12,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $1,096,000. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $615,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 346,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,768,000 after acquiring an additional 10,739 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ITW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ITW opened at $242.57 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

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.