Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $3.58 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,582,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 77.6% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $286.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $296.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $280.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $281.25.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Jennifer F. Scanlon purchased 806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.99 per share, with a total value of $199,879.94. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409,679.48. The trade was a 95.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE ITW opened at $290.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $275.01 and its 200 day moving average is $270.73. 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 cap of $82.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.39% and a return on equity of 101.72%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.350-11.550 EPS. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

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.