Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 707 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 707 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,120.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $992.54 and a 200 day moving average of $1,065.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

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.