W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $22,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,024.37 on Thursday. 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 cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,055.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,044.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, 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 value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.