Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 410 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4,053.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 53,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,824,000 after purchasing an additional 52,612 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $33,901,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1%

GWW stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,086.69. The stock had a trading volume of 360,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,431. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,022.35 and a 200 day moving average of $1,060.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.