Czech National Bank Acquires 569 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Czech National Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $7.58 on Thursday, reaching $1,083.54. 144,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,028.17 and a 200 day moving average of $1,058.34. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis 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 was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

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.