iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 242 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,741,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $971.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,038.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,075.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.