Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 1.7%, selling 7,572 shares and now owns approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $110.9 million.
• Illinois Tool Works has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.61 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report revealed $2.58 earnings per share, beating analysts' estimates, and a revenue of $4.05 billion, which was higher than expected.

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 447,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,572 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Illinois Tool Works worth $110,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $400,000. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 47,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,136,000 after acquiring an additional 15,717 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $260.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $1.29 on Wednesday, reaching $260.97. 719,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,080,159. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $258.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.72. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.350-10.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.59%.

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.