Monument Capital Management Reduces Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Monument Capital Management lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 1.4% of Monument Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price target 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. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $918.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 38,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,775. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $926.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $927.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.