United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 18 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $2,675,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $848,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,002.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $989.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,070.73. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

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.