Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 18.2%, now owning approximately $54.55 million worth of shares.
• Illinois Tool Works declared a quarterly dividend of $1.61, representing a 2.4% yield and an increase from its previous dividend of $1.50.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings on Illinois Tool Works, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $259.33 for the stock.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,847 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Illinois Tool Works worth $54,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.2% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 114,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,265,000 after purchasing an additional 7,691 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 174,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,174,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 11,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.2% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.1% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.33.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $4.06 on Friday, hitting $258.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,044,403. 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 one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $75.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $253.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change 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%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio 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.