IHT Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,020.26 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average of $986.43 and a 200-day moving average of $1,069.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.