Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 7,199 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its Illinois Tool Works stake by 51.1% in the first quarter, selling 7,199 shares and leaving it with 6,876 shares worth about $1.79 million.
• Several major institutional investors still hold large positions in ITW, and the stock remains heavily owned by hedge funds and other institutions at 79.77%.
• Analysts are cautious on the stock: ITW has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $274, even though the shares recently opened at $272.06 and the company beat quarterly earnings estimates.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 51.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,199 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,887,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,622,322,000 after purchasing an additional 189,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,596,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,122,535,000 after purchasing an additional 151,864 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,944,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,709,734,000 after purchasing an additional 184,301 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,636,392 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,141,948,000 after purchasing an additional 142,837 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,705,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $912,562,000 after buying an additional 54,519 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $286.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $280.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $274.00.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $272.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $260.69 and its 200 day moving average is $266.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.82 and a 52-week high of $303.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.32% and a return on equity of 97.36%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.100-11.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon acquired 806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.99 per share, for a total transaction of $199,879.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409,679.48. This trade represents a 95.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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