W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after acquiring an additional 40,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 27,716 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,042,000 after acquiring an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 valued at $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 valued at $616,465,000 after acquiring an additional 37,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,085.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,035.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,054.74. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $52.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 0.83%. 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.