Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Increases Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works, acquiring 2,647 shares, which boosted its holdings by 17.3% to a total of 17,987 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Ameriflex Group Inc. and Saudi Central Bank, have recently invested in Illinois Tool Works, underscoring strong institutional interest, with these entities owning 79.77% of the company's stock.
• Illinois Tool Works reported a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $2.58, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.61, reflecting confidence in its financial outlook.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,528,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $627,176,000 after purchasing an additional 11,854 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,072,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $513,994,000 after acquiring an additional 13,354 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,059,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $522,110,000 after acquiring an additional 209,671 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,034,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $504,683,000 after acquiring an additional 91,359 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total value of $1,803,074.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,035.12. This trade represents a 39.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upped 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial cut Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $260.67.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $1.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $262.21. The company had a trading volume of 289,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,577. The stock has a market cap of $76.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.