Park Place Capital Corp Cuts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Park Place Capital Corp reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 262.1% during the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $484,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.7% in the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.7 %

GWW opened at $896.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $927.49 and its 200-day moving average is $926.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $674.41 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 0.91%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on 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, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

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.