Unigestion Holding SA Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Unigestion Holding SA cut its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,392 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works accounts for approximately 1.8% of Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $30,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,675,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after purchasing an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $806,291,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after buying an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.94 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $256.77 and a 200-day moving average of $260.44.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

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.