Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 992 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 992 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $942.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $979.43 and a 200-day moving average of $865.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

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.