Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after acquiring an additional 691,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $9.87 on Monday, reaching $1,074.10. 23,746 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,099. The company has a market capitalization of $51.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $1,044.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,050.76.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) 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. The firm 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Corporate 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.