NBT Bank N A NY Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

NBT Bank N A NY trimmed its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE ITW opened at $267.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $78.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $257.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.