Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. Stephens lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.0 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $929.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The company has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $979.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $873.99.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

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.