MQS Management LLC Takes $257,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 71.5% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,881,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

GWW opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,037.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $967.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $956.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.