FineMark National Bank & Trust Sells 102 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 71.5% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,881,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $966.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $970.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $906.26. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS 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 net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group increased 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 report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.