Woodline Partners LP Has $14.06 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Woodline Partners LP reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Busey Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,081.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,008.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,065.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

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.