Jay Henderson, a director at Illinois Tool Works (ITW) recently bought 10,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by over 112 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just over $2.35 million.
This marks the first insider buy at the company since May 2020. Otherwise, company insiders, mostly executives, have been steady sellers of shares over the past few years. That’s true even as shares have trended higher over time.
Overall, insiders at the company own 0.2 percent of shares.
The industrial toolmaker has been a steady performer, although shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by rising only half as much as the index over the past year.
However, the company is growing steadily and is posting a solid 19 percent profit margin.
Action to take: Investors may like shares, as the company has been a strong long-term dividend growth player. At present, shares yield just 2.1 percent, but the dividend has increased from $4.64 to $4.88 in the past year.
Given the long-term rise in shares at the company, traders can likely play a seasonal uptrend in shares in the coming weeks. The January $260 calls, last going for about $0.95, are an inexpensive way to play a potential trend higher. The option is priced low enough to potentially see triple-digit returns, but if shares don’t near $260 before expiation, the option could stand to lose money.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.