7,528 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by Voleon Capital Management LP

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,935,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Busey Bank boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $13.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,066.45. 310,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,489. The company has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $988.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,068.36. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

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.