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

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $684,042,000 after buying an additional 691,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,063.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,044.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,052.90. The company has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research 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 research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.