OLD National Bancorp IN Sells 27 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

OLD National Bancorp IN trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,094.92 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,032.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,055.42. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

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.