Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,063,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 2.18% of W.W. Grainger worth $1,121,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research cut 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 report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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W.W. Grainger Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $30.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $942.43. 451,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,393. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,013.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,076.89. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business posted $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% 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.