Vest Financial LLC Lowers Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vest Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,358 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of W.W. Grainger worth $48,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,083.54 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,030.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,057.73. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last ninety days. 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.

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