W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Lowered by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,425 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $848,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 908 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 9,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,169,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $61,249,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.1 %

GWW traded down $22.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,043.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 213,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,869. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $989.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,067.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.