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

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 27,716 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $684,042,000 after acquiring an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 584,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $616,465,000 after purchasing an additional 37,894 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,024.37 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 $888.75 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,055.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,044.43. The company has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on 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. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.