W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 565.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,046,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 65,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,591,000 after buying an additional 7,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,655,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 71.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $693.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $724.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $702.84. The stock has a market cap of $34.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $483.19 and a 1-year high of $811.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.96 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $4.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 60.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 36.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $795.00 to $790.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $647.00 to $653.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $775.00 price target on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, August 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $734.63.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.