First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 41 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $542,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $931.94 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $977.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $881.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.