Johnson Financial Group Inc. Has $149,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 70.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DE Burlo Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 7,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 20,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,220,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock traded up $25.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $1,049.60. The company had a trading volume of 464,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,052. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $986.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,068.84. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month 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 $50.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.