Swedbank AB lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,597 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.37% of W.W. Grainger worth $188,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,228,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,236 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,465,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $770,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 959 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,140.56.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on GWW
W.W. Grainger Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $17.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,113.89. The company had a trading volume of 257,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,473. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,122.75 and its 200 day moving average is $1,063.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.
W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.
Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger
In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.
About W.W. Grainger
(
Free Report)
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.
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