W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Holdings Trimmed by Kings Path Partners LLC

Kings Path Partners LLC lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $3.46 on Monday, reaching $1,050.53. 91,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,402. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $806.08 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,144.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,040.78. The stock has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $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 valued at $11,634,643 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.