Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.50 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Illinois Tool Works has raised its dividend by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 55 years. Illinois Tool Works has a dividend payout ratio of 53.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Illinois Tool Works to earn $11.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.4%.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $246.34 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.