Mather Group LLC. Sells 160 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mather Group LLC. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after buying an additional 13,063 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,478,000 after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $932.74 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $978.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $879.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports 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 note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.