W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) Stake Lowered by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 123,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,472 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of W.W. Grainger worth $22,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after buying an additional 4,953 shares during the last quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 35,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,337,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. BTIM Corp. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the first quarter. BTIM Corp. now owns 331,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,153,000 after buying an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 1,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Institutional investors own 79.59% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE GWW) opened at 165.08 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $170.71 and its 200 day moving average is $203.24. The company has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.74. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.29 and a 12 month high of $262.71.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.09. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 5.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post $10.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.12%.

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Stephens set a $190.00 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sell” rating and set a $166.00 price target (down from $209.00) on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.33.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (Grainger) is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies and other related products and services. The Company offers its products and services to businesses and institutions in the United States and Canada, with presence also in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

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