Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 1,685 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,638,000 after purchasing an additional 7,273 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,984,000 after purchasing an additional 8,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $964.97. 249,489 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,600. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $625.97 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $979.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $859.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 20.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $913.89.

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.