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

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 874,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 43,101 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.30% of Illinois Tool Works worth $215,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 18,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,753,000 after buying an additional 7,508 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 411.8% during the 3rd quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 87,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,914,000 after buying an additional 70,704 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 23,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,014,000 after buying an additional 12,741 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $2,498,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 691.3% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 62,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,437,000 after purchasing an additional 54,756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITW. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $271.92.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $256.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.79. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.82 and a 12-month high of $303.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.32% and a return on equity of 97.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.100-11.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon acquired 806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.99 per share, for a total transaction of $199,879.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409,679.48. The trade was a 95.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.