M&T Bank Corp Sells 8,203 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,203 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $12,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $261.14 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $257.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.68. The company has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, 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 Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

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.