W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Holdings Increased by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 253.8% in Q4 to 3,747 shares (an additional 2,688 shares), valued at about $3.78 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 80.7% of the stock.
• W.W. Grainger raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share (annualized $9.96), a 0.9% yield, with an ex-dividend date of May 11 and payment on June 1.
• Most recent quarter: EPS of $9.45 (missed consensus by $0.01) and revenue of $4.43 billion (beat estimates); analysts' consensus rating is Hold with a price target near $1,118.

Strs Ohio lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 253.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,772,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGH Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.9% in the third quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,135.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,118.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,054.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc NYSE: GWW is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger's product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.

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