Silver Lake Advisory LLC Has $2.72 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $868.53 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,126.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,056.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm 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%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.