Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $4,180,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 135,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,506,000 after buying an additional 10,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $1,770,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target 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. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.78.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $254.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $260.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

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.