W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $19,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,070.56 on Tuesday. 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 $51.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,047.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,049.81. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

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.