Stewart & Patten Co. LLC Trims Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Stewart & Patten Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $959.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded down $6.05 on Monday, reaching $896.19. 198,215 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,955. The stock has a market cap of $43.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $927.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $926.88. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

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.