B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 298 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $13.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1,073.61. 159,443 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,052. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,024.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,058.00. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 0.84%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wolfe Research lowered 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 increased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.