Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 3,248 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after buying an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,797,000 after buying an additional 46,287 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $257.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.68.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.