Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $4.03 Million Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the third 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 fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $256.46 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.45.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

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.