Paradoxiom Capital L.P. Buys New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Paradoxiom Capital L.P. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,984,000. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 2.5% of Paradoxiom Capital L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GWW shares. 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE GWW traded up $17.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,102.43. 382,705 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,315. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,000.69 and its 200-day moving average is $1,065.46. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, 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 quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49.

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 the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is 23.21%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.