W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,915,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,063.31 on Friday. The firm 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 current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,044.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,052.90. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $888.75 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.