Lbp Am Sa Sells 1,367 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

LBP AM SA lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 46.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,367 shares during the quarter. LBP AM SA's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Regents Gate Capital LLP boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.5% in the first quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP now owns 4,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 129,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $125,402,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $11.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,059.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,641. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,062.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,037.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.