Swiss National Bank Sells 4,600 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of W.W. Grainger worth $116,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:GWW traded up $8.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $931.94. The company had a trading volume of 129,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,386. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.18. The business's fifty day moving average is $977.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $881.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.