Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 34,172 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34,172 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $103,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,053.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $806.08 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,143.14 and a 200 day moving average of $1,041.75.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.