W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $949.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $980.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $863.40. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.55%.

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.