Centiva Capital LP Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Centiva Capital LP raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 125.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,727 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 960 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,618,812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after buying an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $535,910,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE GWW traded down $10.02 on Friday, hitting $1,035.87. 287,239 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,395. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $992.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,065.80. The company has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. 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 Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.