W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,089,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,043.27 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $888.75 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,052.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,048.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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 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 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio 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.