Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,398 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,829 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $21,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 37,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,931,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 1,243 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,569,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 66,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $825.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $913.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.3 %

GWW traded down $12.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $937.24. 188,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,362. The stock has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $979.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $863.92. 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 earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

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.