Alley Investment Management Company LLC Buys 504 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SWS Partners raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,607 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 35,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,976,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 28,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $261.96 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.09 and a 200 day moving average of $259.57. The stock has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. 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.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.