Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 30 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,033,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 29,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,392,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 59,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,543,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 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. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,024.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 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 one year low of $888.75 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,055.65 and its 200 day moving average is $1,044.43.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.