Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Takes $425,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 403 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1,099.67. The company had a trading volume of 185,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,268. The company has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,000.69 and its 200-day moving average is $1,064.90. 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 (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.