Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 457 shares during the quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during 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 buying an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of GWW stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,000.13. 161,559 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,045. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day moving average is $991.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,071.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.