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

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the quarter. 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 hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ITW opened at $261.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

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

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

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.