Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Sells 90 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,874,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $977.11 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,045.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,076.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $47.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.