Argyle Capital Management LLC Has $631,000 Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,637 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after buying an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 16,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,281,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.1 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $256.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict 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 $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.