Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd 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 period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital increased their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,113.89 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,122.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,063.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.