Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 300 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $952.72. 65,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,460. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $924.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $938.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger 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.