Promethos Capital LLC Acquires 1,460 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Promethos Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 128.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Promethos Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,261,000 after acquiring an additional 6,928 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,030.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $965.43 and a 200 day moving average of $955.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.