Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,920 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,920 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $55,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 140.6% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,730,000 after acquiring an additional 20,548 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Bancreek Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.5% in the first quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP now owns 4,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of GWW stock traded up $2.49 on Tuesday, hitting $1,036.44. The stock had a trading volume of 278,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,794. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $1,061.36 and its 200-day moving average is $1,038.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger 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.