W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Position Reduced by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,609 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $9.45 on Friday, reaching $947.93. The stock had a trading volume of 174,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,558. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $951.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $953.77. 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 market cap of $46.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

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.