Illinois Tool Works slides as investors focus on muted organic growth despite Q1 beat and higher EPS outlook

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is down 3.3% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: ITW delivered a solid quarter on headline EPS and raised its full-year GAAP EPS outlook, but the market may be reacting to the quality of growth: organic revenue was only modestly positive and several segments posted organic declines. The pullback also looks consistent with investors taking profits and re-rating the stock after a strong run, especially if the guidance lift is viewed as more tax-driven than demand-driven.

Details:

ITW reported Q1 revenue of $4.02 billion (+5% year over year), but organic revenue growth was just 0.4% with a sizable foreign-exchange tailwind.

GAAP EPS was $2.66 (+12%), and operating margin rose 60 bps to 25.4%, helped by enterprise initiatives.

Management raised full-year 2026 GAAP EPS guidance by $0.10 to $11.10–$11.50, with commentary indicating a lower effective tax rate assumption supported the increase.

Segment data showed uneven demand: Automotive OEM, Food Equipment, Construction Products, and Specialty Products had negative organic growth, which may have outweighed strength in Welding and Test & Measurement/Electronics for investors.

Sources:

Illinois Tool Works Investor Relations, Zacks Investment Research, The Motley Fool

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$ITW Insider Trading Activity

$ITW insiders have traded $ITW stock on the open market 10 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 9 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $ITW stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

ERNEST SCOTT SANTI has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 167,345 shares for an estimated $48,686,119.
MARY KATHERINE LAWLER (SVP & Chief HR Officer) sold 17,279 shares for an estimated $5,043,740
DAVID BYRON JR SMITH purchased 6,709 shares for an estimated $1,678,122
AXEL BECK (Executive Vice President) sold 4,223 shares for an estimated $1,225,599
PAMELA B STROBEL sold 1,521 shares for an estimated $373,025

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$ITW Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 723 institutional investors add shares of $ITW stock to their portfolio, and 875 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 5,557,035 shares (-76.4%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $1,368,697,720
BLACKROCK, INC. added 1,192,805 shares (+5.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $293,787,871
AUTO-OWNERS INSURANCE CO removed 625,515 shares (-99.6%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $162,815,299
NORTHERN TRUST CORP removed 562,443 shares (-4.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $138,529,710
MORGAN STANLEY removed 523,084 shares (-11.4%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $128,835,589
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ removed 499,691 shares (-14.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $123,073,893
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC added 451,749 shares (+704.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $111,265,778

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$ITW Government Contracts

We have seen $7,262,447 of award payments to $ITW over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

8511366015!CABLE ASSEMBLY-SWIT: $393,705
8511690248!CABLE ASSEMBLY-SWIT: $201,900
DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT FOR INSTRON LOAD FRAME GRIPS AND CAPACITY UPGRADE COMPONENTS FOR ERDC GSL: $199,015

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard.

$ITW Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $ITW stock 5 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 2 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $ITW stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

SENATOR SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO sold up to $15,000 on 02/24.
REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD MCCORMICK purchased up to $15,000 on 11/05.
REPRESENTATIVE LISA C. MCCLAIN has traded it 3 times. They made 1 purchase worth up to $15,000 on 10/30 and 2 sales worth up to $30,000 on 10/31, 10/30.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$ITW Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $ITW in the last several months. We have seen 0 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 2 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Wells Fargo issued a "Underweight" rating on 01/07/2026
Goldman Sachs issued a "Sell" rating on 12/16/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $ITW, check out Quiver Quantitative's $ITW forecast page.

$ITW Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $ITW recently. We have seen 7 analysts offer price targets for $ITW in the last 6 months, with a median target of $255.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Tami Zakaria from JP Morgan set a target price of $303.0 on 04/10/2026
Julian Mitchell from Barclays set a target price of $250.0 on 04/01/2026
Joseph O'Dea from Wells Fargo set a target price of $245.0 on 04/01/2026
David Raso from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $296.0 on 02/23/2026
Andrew Kaplowitz from Citigroup set a target price of $284.0 on 02/04/2026
Joe Ritchie from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $230.0 on 12/16/2025
Andrew Obin from B of A Securities set a target price of $255.0 on 11/18/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.