World Investment Advisors Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE GWW traded down $21.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $943.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 76,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,373. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $45.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $995.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,072.96.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.