Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Horan Securities Inc.

Horan Securities Inc. lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Horan Securities Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after acquiring an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $274.89 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.05.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 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.