Ethic Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $900.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $946.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $915.51. The stock has a market cap of $44.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

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.