Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $281.25.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $278.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $286.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:ITW opened at $282.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $238.82 and a 12-month high of $303.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.99.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.350-11.550 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.39%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CAO Matteo C. Pigozzo sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total transaction of $80,113.94. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 41,431 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.09, for a total value of $11,894,425.79. Following the transaction, the director owned 266,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,448,621.92. This represents a 13.46% 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 189,229 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,296,349,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,596,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,122,535,000 after acquiring an additional 151,864 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,944,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,709,734,000 after acquiring an additional 184,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,636,392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,141,948,000 after acquiring an additional 142,837 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.