GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $4,180,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.0% during 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, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Four equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.1 %

ITW stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $250.43. The company had a trading volume of 398,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,484. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $260.38 and a 200 day moving average of $251.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 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.