W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of W.W. Grainger worth $104,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. United Community Bank grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $15.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,050.49. The stock had a trading volume of 158,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $50.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1,059.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,040.32.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was 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 owned by corporate 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.