Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 161 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,130.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,020.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $986.43 and its 200 day moving average is $1,069.56. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.