W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) is Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises about 3.4% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.4 %

GWW stock opened at $988.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,024.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,077.69. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.