Sapient Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 227.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $808,351,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 24,530.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 628,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,469,000 after purchasing an additional 625,515 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 442.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,750,000 after purchasing an additional 538,200 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,517.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 390,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,062,000 after purchasing an additional 365,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,311,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $815,587,000 after purchasing an additional 353,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $286.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $278.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $281.25.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.8%

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $294.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $271.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.82. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.82 and a twelve month high of $303.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 101.72% and a net margin of 19.39%.The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.350-11.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 58.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon bought 806 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at $409,679.48. This represents a 95.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.