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

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 608 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $11,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 119.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 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. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,857,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. 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 insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,041.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $972.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $956.38. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,046.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

W.W. Grainger 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.