First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 41 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,451,000 after acquiring an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,063 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,478,000 after buying an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $931.94 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $977.98 and its 200 day moving average is $881.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.