Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 831,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,359 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $216,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 27.8% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Axel Beck sold 4,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,083.58. The trade was a 42.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 167,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.93, for a total transaction of $48,685,680.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,766 shares in the company, valued at $75,282,792.38. The trade was a 39.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock opened at $265.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.66 and a 1 year high of $303.15. The company has a market cap of $76.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.72.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.16% and a net margin of 19.11%.Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.000-11.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 61.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ITW. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $310.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $275.69.

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.