Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $547,000 Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $868.53 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,126.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,056.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for 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 was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

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.