Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Sells 34 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,562,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMPACTfolio LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Transactions 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 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5 %

GWW opened at $1,053.05 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $826.55 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $51.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,140.93 and a 200 day moving average of $1,043.14.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

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.