Raiffeisen Bank International AG Purchases Shares of 1,256 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,416 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,088,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Paradoxiom Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $5,984,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $689,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 2,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $801,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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 W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.8%

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $8.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,091.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,299. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,003.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,064.86.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.