Kathmere Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $10.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $952.79. The stock had a trading volume of 361,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,770. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $924.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $945.30. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $46.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Baird R W downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,017.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.