W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,043.27 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,050.75 and a 200 day moving average of $1,049.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is owned by 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.