Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 53 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,623,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,398,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.8 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,027.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,092.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,070.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend 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.