Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 3,286 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $15,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $808,351,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 24,530.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 628,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,469,000 after acquiring an additional 625,515 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,517.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 390,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,062,000 after acquiring an additional 365,915 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,311,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $815,587,000 after purchasing an additional 353,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 293.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 424,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,705,000 after purchasing an additional 316,512 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $286.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $280.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $274.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $282.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $259.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.96. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.82 and a 52-week high of $303.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.32% and a return on equity of 97.36%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.100-11.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 59.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon acquired 806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $247.99 per share, with a total value of $199,879.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409,679.48. This represents a 95.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that designs and produces a broad array of engineered products, consumables and related service solutions for industrial customers. Its offerings span engineered fastening systems, specialty components, industrial equipment, welding products, foodservice and packaging equipment, adhesives and polymer products, and test-and-measurement technologies. These products are used as critical inputs by customers across automotive, construction, electronics, foodservice, maintenance and other industrial end markets.

The company operates a decentralized business model in which independently managed businesses focus on niche product lines and close customer relationships.