First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 62 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,405,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 584.6% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $992.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,065.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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. 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,120.00.

About W.W. Grainger

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.