W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Sonoma Private Wealth LLC

Sonoma Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Sonoma Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Busey Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,021.00 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,063.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,075.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 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.