W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,081.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,008.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,065.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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