Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Has $241,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 87,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,731,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at $9,265,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.4% during the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,095,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded down $18.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $929.26. The company had a trading volume of 357,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,078. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $979.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $876.26. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

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.