Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 474 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 2.1 %

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $5.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $244.11. 2,396,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,638. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.79. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The firm has a market cap of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.00.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total transaction of $12,741,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,321,252.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316 over the last 90 days. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.