Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments trimmed its Illinois Tool Works stake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,333 shares and leaving it with 282,478 shares worth about $69.6 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on ITW: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $271.92, and several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Illinois Tool Works reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.66 per share on revenue of $4.02 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.61 per share payable July 10.

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 282,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,333 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.10% of Illinois Tool Works worth $69,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 9,140 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $21,648,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,636,392 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,141,948,000 after purchasing an additional 142,837 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $484,000. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 13,080.0% during the fourth quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ITW. Evercore lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $271.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon purchased 806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.99 per share, with a total value of $199,879.94. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $409,679.48. This trade represents a 95.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $252.60 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $258.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.68. The firm has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.01. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.82 and a 52-week high of $303.15. 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 (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.36% and a net margin of 19.32%.Illinois Tool Works's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.100-11.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.80%.

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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