Legacy Trust Trims Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Legacy Trust cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 2.3% of Legacy Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Legacy Trust’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two 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 a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,113.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,122.75 and a 200 day moving average of $1,063.45. The firm has a market cap of $54.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

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.