Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Sells 1,763 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,763 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,038.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,098.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,069.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% 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.