Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $24.88 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $24,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. 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. Loop Capital decreased 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 report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group increased 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. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $8.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $899.98. 184,587 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $924.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $930.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase 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 is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other 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 value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.