September 14, 2023 – Wealth management firm Sheets Smith recently acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the first quarter of this year. According to their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the institutional investor purchased 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, with an estimated value of $205,000.
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is a leading industrial products company that provides a wide range of engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, as well as specialty products. The company operates across various industries such as automotive, food equipment, construction, electronics, aerospace, and more.
On August 1st, ITW released its quarterly earnings results for the previous quarter. During this period, the company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.41, surpassing analysts’ consensus estimates by $0.02. The firm generated revenue amounting to $4.07 billion for the quarter, slightly lower than analyst expectations of $4.14 billion.
Illinois Tool Works achieved a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 94.14%. These figures indicate favorable financial performance during the quarter under review. Moreover, compared to the same quarter last year, ITW experienced a modest increase in quarterly revenue by 1.6%. In the corresponding period in the previous year, EPS stood at $2.37.
Based on predictions from sell-side analysts, it is anticipated that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post earnings per share of approximately $9.74 for the current fiscal year.
This recent investment by Sheets Smith highlights their confidence in Illinois Tool Works’ future prospects within the industrial products sector and reflects their positive outlook on ITW’s financial performance.
As always when considering investments within any industry or specific company stocks like ITW it is important to consider both past performance indicators as well as review any recent changes within the industry and company structure that may impact future performace. Investors should consult their financial advisors for further analysis and guidance based on personal investment goals, risk factors, and overall market conditions.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of Illinois Tool Works or Sheets Smith Wealth Management by our organization.
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Institutional Investors Increase Stake in Illinois Tool Works (ITW) as Hedge Funds Make Significant Changes
In recent news, various hedge funds have made significant changes to their positions in Illinois Tool Works (ITW), a leading industrial products company. BlackRock Inc., for instance, has increased its stake in ITW by 4.7% during the first quarter. This move has resulted in BlackRock owning 22,309,285 shares of ITW’s stock, which is valued at $5,431,195,000. Similarly, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC has witnessed a staggering growth of 106,553.0% in its position with ITW during the fourth quarter. The company now owns an impressive 7,185,211 shares of ITW’s stock worth $1,582,902,000.
Meanwhile, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. saw an 8.5% increase in its stake during the same period and now holds 7,005,137 shares valued at $1,531,936,000. Geode Capital Management LLC also experienced growth in its position with ITW by 12.1%, resulting in ownership of 5,611,731 shares worth $1,363,875,000.
Another notable investor is Morgan Stanley whose stake has grown by an astonishing 59.2%. Morgan Stanley currently possesses 4.591278 million shares valued at $1.011459 billion.
Evidently from these figures and statistics provided by Bloomberg.com it is clear that institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 79.56% of ITW’s stock.
In terms of share prices on Thursday September 14th this year; Illinois Tool Works opened trading at $237.91 per share – a notable figure for market watchers to take into account when analyzing trends for this stock going forward.
ITW commands a market capitalization of approximately $71.94 billion and boasts a P/E ratio of 23.53 indicating the firm’s strong presence within the market. Additionally, the P/E/G ratio of 4.25 signifies a healthy balance between growth and valuation.
For the past twelve months, ITW’s stock has fluctuated between a low of $180.27 and a high of $264.19, demonstrating significant volatility in its movements; suggesting investors should be mindful when planning their trades.
Taking into account recent milestones reached by the company, Illinois Tool Works recently announced its intention to pay a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 12th. Investors who hold shares on record as of Friday, September 29th will receive a dividend amounting to $1.40 per share. It is worth mentioning that this figure represents an increase from ITW’s previous quarterly dividend payment of $1.31 per share.
At present, Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) stands at 55.39%, which further highlights the company’s commitment towards rewarding shareholders with consistent and stable dividends.
Several brokerage firms have evaluated ITW’s performance recently and have provided their expert opinions on the stock. Barclays reduced its price target from $213.00 to $198.00 in a research report published on Thursday, September 7th of this year while Citigroup analysts raised their price target from $256.00 to $258.00 maintaining a “neutral” rating for ITW’s stock.
Credit Suisse Group analysts also increased their price target from $281.00 to an impressive $292 setting the rating as “outperform”. Similarly, Stifel Nicolaus analysts increased their target price for ITW from $236 to $250 while remaining unsure about the company ultimately categorizing it as a “hold”.
Contrasting these optimistic views, Morgan Stanley analysts offered an opposite perspective with a downgrade from $230 to just $232 per share along with an “underweight” rating.
In sum, three equity research analysts have given “sell” ratings for ITW’s stock, while eight have adopted a more cautious “hold” position, and just one research analyst has taken a bullish approach with a “buy” rating on ITW.
