W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Holdings Lessened by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,470,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after acquiring an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,595,000 after acquiring an additional 42,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,706,000 after acquiring an additional 18,542 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $2.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $915.51. 128,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $925.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $927.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.