W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 94.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,882 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. 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

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $15.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,050.49. The company had a trading volume of 158,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,375. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,060.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,039.22. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

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.