Toth Financial Advisory Corp Trims Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 1.5% of Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $392,470,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after purchasing an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,706,000 after purchasing an additional 18,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $902.24. The stock had a trading volume of 422,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. 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 $928.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $924.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

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.