Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $55.79 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,920 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $55,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. United Community Bank increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased 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 last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.5% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded up $6.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,042.75. The stock had a trading volume of 295,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,233. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,062.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,038.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. 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. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Wolfe Research downgraded 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

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.