Bailard Inc. Cuts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after buying an additional 13,063 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $14.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $933.10. 56,430 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,030. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $980.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $872.58.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

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.