Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 1,200 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,687,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $6,427,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $6.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,070.56. 152,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,604. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,044.54 and a 200 day moving average of $1,050.76. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. 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. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.