Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 33.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.9% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 16.8% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,883,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W.W. Grainger Price Performance
Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $18.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,063.31. The company had a trading volume of 157,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,390. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,041.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,053.95. The stock has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.
Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger
In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GWW
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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