Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,036 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,036 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $291,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:GWW traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $956.50. 224,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 230,841. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $47.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $979.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $871.45. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 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 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.