Aurdan Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 733 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 3.4% of Aurdan Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Aurdan Capital Management LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 486 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.7% during the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 270 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%
Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $11.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,059.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,641. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,062.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,037.73.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on GWW
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 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. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.
About W.W. Grainger
(
Free Report)
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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