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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $3,687,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,685.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 116.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,506,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded up $6.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,042.75. The stock had a trading volume of 295,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,233. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 company has a market cap of $50.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,061.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,038.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business'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 value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.