Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 10,947 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,947 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.38% of W.W. Grainger worth $195,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value 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 trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $5.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $1,008.36. The stock had a trading volume of 40,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,963. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $48.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $986.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,070.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors 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 0.81%. 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.