FORA Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

FORA Capital LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1,353.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,274 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.3% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 39.5% during the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 67,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,674,000 after acquiring an additional 19,102 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 844,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,679,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,797,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $938,822,000 after purchasing an additional 415,982 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total value of $373,025.25. Following the sale, the director owned 39,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,817.25. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $258.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $247.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.51. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $278.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.09. The company 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%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.91 EPS. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ITW shares. Barclays upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $258.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $261.00 to $253.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $261.58.

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.