W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Lowered by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $4.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $941.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,498. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $863.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.