Vident Advisory LLC Sells 1,397 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vident Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,397 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $2,253,000. St. Clair Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $632,000. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $54,030,000. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 226.1% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,016,000 after buying an additional 13,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This trade 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 Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,099.67 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $52.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,003.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,064.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

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.