Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Brendel Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 93.1% in Q4, selling 12,969 shares and leaving it with 960 shares worth about $236,000.
• Company insiders executed large sales recently: Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 167,345 shares for roughly $48.7 million (a 39.3% drop in his ownership) and EVP Axel Beck sold 4,223 shares.
• Analysts are mixed but leaning negative: the stock's average consensus is "Reduce" with an average price target of $270 after several firms cut targets and issued differing ratings.

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 93.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,969 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 341.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 70.5% during the third quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $327.00 to $303.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $270.00.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 167,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.93, for a total transaction of $48,685,680.85. Following the sale, the director owned 258,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,282,792.38. This trade represents a 39.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Axel Beck sold 4,223 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.22, for a total transaction of $1,225,599.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,083.58. The trade was a 42.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE ITW opened at $272.12 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.90 and a 1 year high of $303.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $78.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $277.33 and a 200 day moving average of $260.73.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.16% and a net margin of 19.11%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.000-11.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.39%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.

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