VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems bought 12,620 shares of Illinois Tool Works worth approximately $3.4 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.77% of ITW.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: ITW has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $281.25, despite JPMorgan raising its target to $350 and assigning an “overweight” rating.
• Illinois Tool Works beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.84 EPS and $4.30 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.72 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,413,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 23,625.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 109,530,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,624,672,000 after buying an additional 109,068,689 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth $6,296,349,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,596,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,122,535,000 after acquiring an additional 151,864 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,944,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,709,734,000 after purchasing an additional 184,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,636,392 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,141,948,000 after purchasing an additional 142,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ITW. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $286.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $280.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $281.25.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.7%

ITW opened at $264.20 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $238.82 and a 52 week high of $303.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.84. The firm has a market cap of $75.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.98.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 101.72% and a net margin of 19.39%.The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.350-11.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CAO Matteo Pigozzo sold 277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $80,113.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $981,612.68. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Santi sold 41,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.09, for a total transaction of $11,894,425.79. Following the sale, the director directly owned 266,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,448,621.92. The trade was a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc NYSE: ITW is a diversified industrial manufacturer that develops and produces specialized equipment, components, consumables and related solutions for businesses worldwide. Its products are used across industries including automotive, food service, construction, electronics, welding and general manufacturing.

The company operates through several business segments, including Automotive, Food Equipment, Test & Measurement and Electronics, Welding, Polymers & Fluids, Construction Products, and Specialty Products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.