CFO4Life Group LLC Sells 94 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

CFO4Life Group LLC reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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 price target of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $23.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $927.23. The company had a trading volume of 193,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,268. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $674.41 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $923.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $930.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.19 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

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.