W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 562,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 193,660 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $592,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,065.69 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $989.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,067.28. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

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.