W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Position Reduced by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by 55.2%, owning 2,593 shares worth $2,561,000 after selling 3,200 shares this quarter.
• W.W. Grainger's quarterly earnings per share (EPS) reached $9.86, surpassing estimates of $9.51, with revenue standing at $4.31 billion, reflecting a 1.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.26 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $9.04, yielding 0.87% with a payout ratio of 23.21%.

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 55.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 73,173 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,128,000 after buying an additional 3,347 shares in 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 worth $1,256,400,000 after buying an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $17,354,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,124,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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 downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $107.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $932.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,263,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,513. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,051.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,034.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 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.