Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 433 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% during 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 buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,630,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268 shares in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 29,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,392,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 59,264 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,543,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now directly owns 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given 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 an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4%

GWW stock opened at $1,042.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,054.88 and a 200-day moving average of $1,044.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger 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.

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