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

GSB Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after buying an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,058,000 after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd 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 worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $870.99 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,125.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,057.85.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

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

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.