Raymond James & Associates Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,069 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.17% of W.W. Grainger worth $75,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,017.13.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was 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 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $7.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $966.37. 294,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,183. The firm has a market cap of $47.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.30. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $935.30 and its 200 day moving average is $951.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.1 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend 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.