State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 3.9%, owning 93,465 shares worth approximately $23.1 million after selling 3,798 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Illinois Tool Works, with estimates ranging from $240 to $265, and the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.61 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.6% and a boost from the previous dividend of $1.50.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,798 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $23,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 10,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 8,461 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 4,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $262.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total transaction of $1,803,074.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,035.12. The trade was a 39.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 4.5%

NYSE ITW opened at $245.91 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $259.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.46%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ITW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.