Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 55,978.4% during the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,430,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $354,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,450 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $293,928,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.3% in the 4th 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 worth $522,110,000 after purchasing an additional 209,671 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock opened at $262.0890 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $76.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.350-10.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $283.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $260.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.