W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,741,000. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,687,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 496.6% in the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $992.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,065.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

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.