W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) is Birch Capital Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Birch Capital Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 13 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 7.6% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Willis Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth approximately $7,538,000. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 143.4% during the first quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,773,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.3% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.8% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,080.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,041.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,053.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.