W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,954 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $49,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE GWW opened at $931.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $977.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $881.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.