Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. abrdn plc lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 123,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,435,000 after purchasing an additional 51,170 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $1,204,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 375.7% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 8,794 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ITW. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.8 %

ITW stock traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $247.78. The company had a trading volume of 133,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,487. The company has a 50 day moving average of $241.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The company has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 59.17%.

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.