Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $828.75 Million Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9%, holding approximately $828.75 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have issued new price targets for Illinois Tool Works, with Bank of America downgrading it to an "underperform" rating and setting a target of $220.00, while Barclays raised it to $243.00.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.61, representing an annual yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 52.59%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,341,592 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 100,420 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.14% of Illinois Tool Works worth $828,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter worth about $214,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 12.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Truist Financial cut Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.33.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $0.22 on Monday, hitting $256.77. The company had a trading volume of 102,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,112. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $74.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.61 per share. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.44%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.