W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Geneva Partners LLC

Geneva Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. Geneva Partners LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2%

GWW traded up $2.49 on Tuesday, reaching $1,036.44. 278,263 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,794. The company's 50 day moving average is $1,061.36 and its 200-day moving average is $1,038.15. The company has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $888.75 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 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. 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.