Quadrant Capital Group LLC Purchases 18 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $942.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,013.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,076.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.18%.

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.