Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Increases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth $25,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 90.9% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $262.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total transaction of $1,803,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,734,035.12. This trade represents a 39.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $245.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase 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 2.6%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.44%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.