Boston Trust Walden Corp Raises Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,264 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $58,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price 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 note 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 target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,043.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,050.75 and a 200 day moving average of $1,049.74. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $888.75 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was 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 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.

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