Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 4,084 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 16.0%, selling 4,084 shares, and now holds 21,385 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Illinois Tool Works plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $1.61, marking a rise from the previous $1.50, which reflects a 2.5% yield on an annualized basis.
• Wall Street analysts have given Illinois Tool Works an average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $259.33, with three analysts rating it as a sell.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,084 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $5,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.33.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW traded up $3.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $260.57. The stock had a trading volume of 637,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,164. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $252.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.59%.

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.