W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,058,000 after purchasing an additional 53,729 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $987.04 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,030.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,076.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

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.