Capital Planning Advisors LLC Sells 33 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Capital Planning Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Capital Planning Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $285,574,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $812,403,000 after purchasing an additional 75,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,322,801,000 after acquiring an additional 57,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $948.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,037.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,027.58. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.76 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

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.