Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $5,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $263.99 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $257.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.42. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

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.