OLD National Bancorp IN Sells 27 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

OLD National Bancorp IN lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wolfe Research cut 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,094.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,032.11 and a 200-day moving average of $1,055.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $52.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.