Cinctive Capital Management LP Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,618,812,000 after acquiring an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $491,170,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Remove Ads

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $30.98 on Friday, reaching $942.43. 451,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,393. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,013.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,076.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. 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 (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.