Mutual Advisors LLC Has $485,000 Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mutual Advisors LLC decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 37.0% during 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 period. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 140.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,730,000 after purchasing an additional 20,548 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bancreek Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP now owns 4,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 7.67% 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

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $11.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,059.71. The company had a trading volume of 324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,804. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,062.21 and its 200-day moving average is $1,037.94.

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 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.