Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $41,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,032.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $970.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $956.01. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,037.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.