Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. sold 160,007 shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc., reducing its position by 18.4% to 707,240 shares, valued at approximately $175.4 million.
• Illinois Tool Works recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.61 per share, up from the previous $1.50, with a payout date set for October 10th.
• Equities analysts have varied opinions on Illinois Tool Works, with target prices ranging from $220.00 to $283.00, and an average consensus rating of "Reduce" for the stock.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 707,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 160,007 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.24% of Illinois Tool Works worth $175,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 10,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,630,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $260.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.3%

ITW stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 379,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,798. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 90.89% and a net margin of 21.31%.The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.350-10.550 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is 56.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.