Gallacher Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Patten & Patten Inc. TN purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 220,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,961,000 after buying an additional 12,944 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harrington Investments INC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 11,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $254.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.43. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

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.