Bellwether Advisors LLC Sells 972 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bellwether Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 972 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $2,675,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $848,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,015.06 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $48.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $986.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,070.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company posted $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.