Harfst & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. has decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by 57.6% in Q1, selling 1,354 shares and ending with 996 shares valued at $984,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter, with 80.7% of the company's stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $9.97 per share, which was below analysts' expectations, and has announced a dividend of $2.26 per share scheduled for payment on September 1st.

Harfst & Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 996 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,354 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 486 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 270 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE GWW traded up $8.83 on Monday, hitting $978.76. 349,870 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,033. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,025.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,022.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.76 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.