Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,416 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Busey Bank increased its position in shares of 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 increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $4.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,096.11. 37,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,410. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,003.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,064.86. The company has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share 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 a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger 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.