M&T Bank Corp Sells 180 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital reduced 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $931.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $977.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $883.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. 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 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

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.