State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 1,280 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,280 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $467,667.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $3.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $914.75. 128,957 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 242,486. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $926.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $927.54. The firm has a market cap of $44.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

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.