Centerstone Investors LLC Reduces Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Centerstone Investors LLC lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,643 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up about 2.8% of Centerstone Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Centerstone Investors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after acquiring an additional 40,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after acquiring an additional 27,716 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 584,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $616,465,000 after acquiring an additional 37,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,072.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,012.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,064.69. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $51.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.