UMB Bank n.a. Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

UMB Bank n.a. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,157 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 510 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. lifted their price target 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. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,094.92 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,032.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,055.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $888.75 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The company 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

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.

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