W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Ibex Wealth Advisors

Ibex Wealth Advisors lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 92.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,645 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,113.89 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,122.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,063.45. The stock has a market cap of $54.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger 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.