W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 13,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,292,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,272,000 after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $16.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $984.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 298,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,681. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock has a market cap of $48.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $947.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $953.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.1 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.