Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,102.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, 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 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,000.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,065.22.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $9.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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 research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,120.00.

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.