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

Toth Financial Advisory Corp reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 1.5% of Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s investment portfolio, 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 large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $810,586,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the fourth 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. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $392,470,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the fourth 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. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $959.44.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $902.24. The company had a trading volume of 422,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,463. The stock has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $928.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $924.92. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. 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 given a $2.05 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. 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.