Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 26,372.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up 0.9% of GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.70% of Illinois Tool Works worth $5,123,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 88,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $22,538,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ITW traded down $2.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $242.53. The stock had a trading volume of 664,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,163. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average price is $240.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.82. The company has a market cap of $71.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 52.77%.

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.