California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its ITW position, buying more than 109 million additional shares in the second quarter to own approximately 38.46% of Illinois Tool Works, valued at $29.6 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: ITW has a consensus rating of “Reduce” from 13 analysts, with an average price target of $281.25, despite JPMorgan raising its target to $350.
• Illinois Tool Works exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reported 6.1% year-over-year revenue growth, and raised its quarterly dividend from $1.61 to $1.72 per share, producing a 2.5% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 23,625.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,530,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 109,068,689 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 38.46% of Illinois Tool Works worth $29,624,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,017,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth $14,028,000. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 115,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,324,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,887,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 113.2% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 10,822 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 5,745 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $286.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $280.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $281.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Santi sold 41,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.09, for a total value of $11,894,425.79. Following the sale, the director owned 266,288 shares in the company, valued at $76,448,621.92. This represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matteo C. Pigozzo sold 277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $80,113.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,612.68. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $269.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $280.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.24. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.82 and a 1-year high of $303.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 101.72% and a net margin of 19.39%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.350-11.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.39%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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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