Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,618,812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after acquiring an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $535,910,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 293,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $309,363,000 after purchasing an additional 8,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,000.45. 50,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,428. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $991.45 and a 200 day moving average of $1,071.58. The company has a market cap of $48.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.