Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 1,354 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Harfst & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,354 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 60,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,507,000 after buying an additional 6,721 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 17,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,979,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,011,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $981.34 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,030.54 and its 200-day moving average is $1,025.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.94%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.