W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Peninsula Asset Management Inc.

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 3.4% of Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $968.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,046.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,075.29.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.