Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Sells 2,488 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 82.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 519 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,488 shares during the quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $17.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,024.37. The company had a trading volume of 221,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,710. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,054.88 and its 200-day moving average is $1,044.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 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.