Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 6.9%, now holding a total of 37,938 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million.
• A variety of analysts have updated their target prices for Illinois Tool Works, with the average price target now at $260.67.
• Illinois Tool Works announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.61 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 30th, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.5%.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,528,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $627,176,000 after acquiring an additional 11,854 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,059,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $522,110,000 after buying an additional 209,671 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,034,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $504,683,000 after purchasing an additional 91,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,756,141 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $435,508,000 after purchasing an additional 45,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $260.67.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.41. 668,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,000. The company has a market cap of $76.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $260.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.350-10.550 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.