W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Peninsula Asset Management Inc.

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 3.4% of Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,170,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,815,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $968.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,046.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,075.29. The firm has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

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.