Bailard Inc. Lowers Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bailard Inc. decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $14.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $933.10. The company had a trading volume of 56,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,030. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $980.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $872.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm 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. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.