W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $972.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,017.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,076.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $46.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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.