MQS Management LLC Buys New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 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 fund acquired 992 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $980,000. W.W. Grainger makes up about 0.6% of MQS Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $684,042,000 after acquiring an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $535,910,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company'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 value of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1%

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $11.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,059.71. The stock had a trading volume of 324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,274. The stock has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,062.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,037.36. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. 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 0.85%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,116.25.

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.