Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,179 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,883,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of GWW traded down $18.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,063.31. The company had a trading volume of 157,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,989. The company has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,044.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,051.84. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. 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 yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

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.