Veracity Capital LLC Decreases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Veracity Capital LLC lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $11,075,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 13,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $915.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $925.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $927.37. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GWW. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $959.44.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.