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

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,910,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business'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 directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business'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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5%

GWW stock traded down $16.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1,034.43. 245,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,680. 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 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,060.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,038.56.

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 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.