W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock traded down $18.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $929.26. The stock had a trading volume of 357,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,078. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $873.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

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.