Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 32,163 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $33,901,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.07% of W.W. Grainger at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $3,687,000. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 484.2% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,145,000 after buying an additional 4,832 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 959 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,086.69. 360,822 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,424. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,022.35 and a 200 day moving average of $1,058.73.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.