Horizon Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger by 29.5% in Q4, selling 1,272 shares and leaving it with 3,036 shares valued at about $3.06 million.
• W.W. Grainger raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 (annualized $9.96), implying a ~0.9% yield; the ex-dividend date is May 11 and the dividend is payable June 1.
• In the latest quarter Grainger posted EPS of $9.45 (missed estimates by $0.01) and revenue of $4.43 billion (up 4.5% YoY and above expectations), while analysts' consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $1,118.14.

Horizon Investments LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,272 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,051,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,143.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $54.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,118.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,053.61. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,118.14.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc NYSE: GWW is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger's product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.

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