Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $159,365,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after acquiring an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 57,894 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

GWW opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $970.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $956.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,037.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.