Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 39,695 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 46.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,614 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 39,695 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.10% of W.W. Grainger worth $46,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 287 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 3,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,016.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $888.75 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,055.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,043.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 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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