Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,610 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,441 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,610 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of W.W. Grainger worth $46,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $5,618,812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $535,910,000. Amundi grew its position 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 worth $491,170,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $309,363,000 after acquiring an additional 8,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised 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 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,130.89.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $32.19 on Friday, reaching $992.88. 395,299 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,392. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $993.18 and a 200-day moving average of $1,072.13.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.