Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 1,589 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,589 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $18.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,063.31. 157,631 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,989. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. 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 market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,044.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,050.76.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

About W.W. Grainger

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.