LVW Advisors LLC Sells 156 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

LVW Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 25.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,073.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,024.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,058.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.