Wealthfront Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 14.9% to 50,282 shares (about $12.38M), and overall institutional ownership is high at 79.77% with other major funds also increasing positions.
• Large insider selling occurred recently: EVP Axel Beck sold 4,223 shares (~$1.23M) and Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 167,345 shares (~$48.69M), reducing their holdings by roughly 42% and 39%, respectively.
• Analysts show mixed sentiment with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $270 target after several cuts, while ITW modestly beat Q results (EPS $2.72 vs. $2.69) and issued FY2026 guidance of 11.00–11.40 EPS; the stock yields ~2.4% and has a market cap near $77.4B.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,535 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $12,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,887,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,622,322,000 after purchasing an additional 189,229 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,493,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,171,740,000 after acquiring an additional 131,702 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,650,562 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $951,921,000 after purchasing an additional 55,416 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,587,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $674,871,000 after buying an additional 33,171 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,333,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $608,552,000 after purchasing an additional 7,372 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, EVP Axel Beck sold 4,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.22, for a total transaction of $1,225,599.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,680,083.58. This represents a 42.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 167,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.93, for a total value of $48,685,680.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,766 shares in the company, valued at $75,282,792.38. This represents a 39.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $278.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $270.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $268.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $77.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $272.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.65. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $228.76 and a 52 week high of $303.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.03. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.16% and a net margin of 19.11%.The business had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.000-11.400 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.39%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that designs and produces a broad array of engineered products, consumables and related service solutions for industrial customers. Its offerings span engineered fastening systems, specialty components, industrial equipment, welding products, foodservice and packaging equipment, adhesives and polymer products, and test-and-measurement technologies. These products are used as critical inputs by customers across automotive, construction, electronics, foodservice, maintenance and other industrial end markets.

The company operates a decentralized business model in which independently managed businesses focus on niche product lines and close customer relationships.

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