Apollon Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,075,000. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,638,000 after purchasing an additional 7,273 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,984,000 after purchasing an additional 8,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of 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, Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $956.21 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $976.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.57. The company has a market cap of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.