W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Kintegral Advisory LLC

Kintegral Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,964 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 962 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 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 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 company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW traded up $15.21 on Friday, reaching $1,050.49. The company had a trading volume of 158,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,375. 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 market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,060.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,039.22.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost 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 is presently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.