Peninsula Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up 3.3% of Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 73,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,354,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two 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, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,044.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,054.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,035.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio 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.