West Coast Financial LLC Sells 4,900 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

West Coast Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises about 1.1% of West Coast Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other 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 transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,136.75 and a 200-day moving average of $1,048.83. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $833.50 and a one 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.