Xponance Inc. Sells 428 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,638,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,984,000 after purchasing an additional 8,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE GWW traded up $4.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $941.73. The company had a trading volume of 20,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,498. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $979.76 and a 200 day moving average of $863.92. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.55%.

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.