Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Sells 198 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $19,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,070.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,047.57 and a 200-day moving average of $1,049.81. 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 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. 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. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% 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 worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GWW. 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded 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, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

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.