Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Sells 100 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,027.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,086.13 and a 200-day moving average of $1,070.93. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.