Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Sells 380 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 2.1% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. FMR LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after acquiring an additional 43,043 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,565,000 after acquiring an additional 23,055 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock traded down $3.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $926.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 158,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,744. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $979.95 and its 200-day moving average is $876.26.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

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.