Harrington Investments INC Sells 143 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Harrington Investments INC decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Harrington Investments INC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after acquiring an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,470,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,334,000 after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after acquiring an additional 42,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

GWW stock opened at $947.93 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $951.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $953.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.