Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,684 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of W.W. Grainger worth $58,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,687,000. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 484.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 959 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $399,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,099.67 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $1,003.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,064.86. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. 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. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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 issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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