CENTRAL TRUST Co Buys 2,908 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 42.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,528,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $627,176,000 after buying an additional 11,854 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,072,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,994,000 after acquiring an additional 13,354 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,034,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $504,683,000 after purchasing an additional 91,359 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,756,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $435,508,000 after purchasing an additional 45,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,599,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $383,828,000 after purchasing an additional 17,119 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $258.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $298.00 to $275.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $262.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total value of $1,803,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,734,035.12. The trade was a 39.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total value of $373,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,817.25. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4%

ITW opened at $245.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.06. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.05% and a return on equity of 93.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.46%.

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.