Carret Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW traded up $1.07 on Wednesday, hitting $251.71. 1,252,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,246,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $260.38 and its 200 day moving average is $251.30. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total value of $1,493,401.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.