Forsta AP Fonden Raises Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $392,470,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,595,000 after buying an additional 42,395 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $28,241,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,706,000 after buying an additional 18,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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 approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $14.37 on Friday, hitting $918.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 341,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,801. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $923.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $931.59. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $959.44.

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.