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

Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 168.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $41,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $996.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $957.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $954.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

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.