Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $9.15 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:GWW traded down $18.24 on Friday, hitting $1,063.31. 157,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,591. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,044.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,052.90.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. 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. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.