IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Invests $208,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,857,000 after acquiring an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.6 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,119.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,005.87 and its 200-day moving average is $963.48. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,030.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.