W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 129,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $125,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $684,042,000 after buying an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,034.87. 14,872 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,782. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $888.75 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,061.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,038.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company’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 value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’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 directly owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.