W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Cut by Silver Lake Advisory LLC

Silver Lake Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,465,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,126.79 and a 200-day moving average of $1,056.43. The firm has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $868.53 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

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.