Courier Capital LLC Sells 551 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Courier Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,741,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction 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 approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,075.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,139.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,047.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $833.50 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

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.