Cetera Investment Advisers Has $16.23 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 707 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $992.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,065.99.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

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.