W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,583 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.58% of W.W. Grainger worth $299,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 research 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 for the company. in a research 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 research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of GWW stock traded down $10.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,035.87. 287,239 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,395. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a market capitalization 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $992.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,065.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. 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. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 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.