Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,036 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens boosted 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 boosted 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. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $956.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 224,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,841. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $979.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $871.45.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

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.