W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 over the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $833.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,138.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,048.51. The firm has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.