Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,093 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of W.W. Grainger worth $103,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 19.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 112 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.7% during the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 270 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth approximately $128,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.6% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 758 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%

GWW traded up $11.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,059.71. 324,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,274. 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 firm has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,062.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,037.36. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Wolfe Research cut 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,116.25.

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.