CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GWW. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $870.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,125.67 and a 200 day moving average of $1,057.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.