W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Daymark Wealth Partners LLC

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,741,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $868.53 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,126.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,056.43. The stock has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly 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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

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.