PDT Partners LLC Sells 400 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

PDT Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 400 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE GWW traded up $13.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,066.45. 310,700 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,489. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $988.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,068.36.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.