Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 4,427 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,427 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,063 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. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,478,000 after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $955.79 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $979.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $871.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.