W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Regents Gate Capital LLP

Regents Gate Capital LLP grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 51.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up about 2.1% of Regents Gate Capital LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Regents Gate Capital LLP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president owned 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% 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 0.4%

NYSE:GWW traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,049.50. The stock had a trading volume of 405,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,508. The company has a market capitalization of $50.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,062.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,037.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.