Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Sells 532 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for 0.6% of Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. FMR LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,565,000 after purchasing an additional 23,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:GWW traded up $2.53 on Wednesday, hitting $958.32. 295,110 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,976. The company has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $980.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $872.05.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens upped their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.