Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 42.5%, owning 2,891 shares valued at $715,000 after selling 2,135 shares.
• Illinois Tool Works increased its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.61 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $6.44 and a yield of 2.5%.
• Despite experiencing a small decline of 0.2% in trading, Illinois Tool Works reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.6%.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 55,978.4% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,430,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $354,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,450 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $293,928,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 14.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,265,005 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $313,734,000 after acquiring an additional 160,009 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 371,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,020,000 after acquiring an additional 124,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 118.7% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 223,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,789,000 after purchasing an additional 121,141 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ITW opened at $260.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $261.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.350-10.550 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $261.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total value of $1,803,074.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,035.12. The trade was a 39.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works 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.

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