Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,003 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $992.54 and a 200 day moving average of $1,065.69. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company 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 $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.