Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,036 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,978 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,036 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $2.53 on Wednesday, reaching $958.32. The company had a trading volume of 295,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,976. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $980.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $872.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $913.89.

About W.W. Grainger

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.