W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.27% of W.W. Grainger worth $125,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $3,687,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,685.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 116.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,506,000 after purchasing an additional 18,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $0.92 on Tuesday, reaching $1,034.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,782. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,061.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,038.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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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