Fmr LLC Sells 13,352 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

FMR LLC lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,603,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,352 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 3.29% of W.W. Grainger worth $1,690,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,477 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,727,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $922,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 345.7% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,608,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $32.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $992.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 395,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,392. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $993.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,072.13.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.