Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 34,172 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 34,172 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.20% of W.W. Grainger worth $103,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $8.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,062.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 298,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,245. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $806.08 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,143.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,041.75. The company has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

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.