Brighton Jones LLC Sells 17 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brighton Jones LLC trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $3,687,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $6,427,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,045.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,049.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,049.78.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

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.