Haverford Trust Co Decreases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 38,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,275,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 376.0% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 1,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 64,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,473,000 after acquiring an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $992.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,036.67 and a 200 day moving average of $1,077.39. The company has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio 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.