W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 37.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 140.6% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,730,000 after buying an additional 20,548 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 73.2% during the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Bancreek Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.5% during the first quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP now owns 4,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,372,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded up $11.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1,056.58. 135,381 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,816. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $50.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,062.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,038.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week 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 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 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. 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 payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was 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 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.