Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes $1.10 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $159,365,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after buying an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after buying an additional 57,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-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. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $967.95 and a 200-day moving average of $956.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,037.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.