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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,427 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.4% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,638,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,984,000 after acquiring an additional 8,865 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after acquiring an additional 43,043 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $955.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $979.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $871.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $46.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given 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 payout ratio is 20.55%.

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.