SRB Corp Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

SRB Corp lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 70,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 4.6% of SRB Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. SRB Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $69,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 34.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $65,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $978.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,023.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,021.41. The stock has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.76 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.