W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $992.88 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $993.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,072.32. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

W.W. Grainger 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.