W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Increased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $23,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.4% during the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,079.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,016.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $992.22. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,103.69. The stock has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.