Geneva Partners LLC Cuts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Geneva Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,709 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $5.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $942.65. 260,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,777. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $979.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $865.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

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.