W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 77.2% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.0% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 76.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Agate Pass Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,035.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,101.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,067.47. The stock has a market cap of $50.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

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.