Pitcairn Co. Sells 511 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,006.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,019.98 and a 200-day moving average of $1,077.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.