Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys Shares of 2,389 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4,053.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 53,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,824,000 after buying an additional 52,612 shares during the period. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $54,030,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 10.3%

Shares of GWW stock traded down $107.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $932.25. 1,263,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,864. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $1,054.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,035.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,116.25.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, 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 transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm'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 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 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.