Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 288 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 1.9% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 486 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.7% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 270 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 34.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,039.68. The stock had a trading volume of 500,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,304. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,061.79 and its 200 day moving average is $1,037.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $49.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.