First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 62 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $1,741,000. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $3,687,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,128,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 496.6% in the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $992.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,065.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.