W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Busey Bank boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $993.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,022.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,077.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 company earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

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.