Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW Holdings Lifted by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its Illinois Tool Works stake by 16.1% in the third quarter, adding 7,519 shares to hold 54,175 shares valued at about $13.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own nearly 79.8% of ITW.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: one analyst rates ITW a Buy, seven a Hold, and five a Sell; the consensus rating is “Reduce,” with a $276.33 average target price.
• ITW beat quarterly EPS expectations with $3.00 per share, while revenue of $4.24 billion came in slightly below estimates; revenue rose 4.5% year over year. The company declared a $1.72 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.4% yield.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,519 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $13,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITW. StoneX Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $313,000. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% in the third quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 32,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.3% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $2,100,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $293.00 price objective (down from $297.00) on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $287.00 to $281.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $317.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $276.33.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $280.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $271.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.40. The company has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.03. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 103.35% and a net margin of 19.39%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 61.32%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Santi sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.87, for a total transaction of $17,572,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 266,333 shares in the company, valued at $78,000,945.71. This represents a 18.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matteo Pigozzo sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $80,113.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $981,612.68. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 101,708 shares of company stock worth $29,546,740 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc NYSE: ITW is a diversified manufacturer serving industrial and commercial customers around the world. Founded in 1912, the company is known for its decentralized operating model and focus on specialized products and solutions.

ITW's businesses make products and equipment for a range of markets, including automotive, food service, construction, welding, and testing and measurement. Its offerings include food-service equipment, welding systems and consumables, automotive components, construction products, polymers and fluids, and laboratory and electronics testing equipment.

The company serves customers across North America, Europe, Asia, and other international markets through its manufacturing and sales operations.

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