Short Interest in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Grows By 13.3%

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the August 15th total of 1,430,000 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 242,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $392,470,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $281,104,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,013.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $961.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $954.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for 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 company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.