Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 39.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,102 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $16,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.3% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 8.3% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 2,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $298.00 to $275.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $262.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total transaction of $373,025.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,817.25. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total transaction of $1,803,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,035.12. The trade was a 39.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $245.47 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.00. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 93.26% and a net margin of 19.05%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.91 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.46%.

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.