Short Interest in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Decreases By 10.6%

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the January 15th total of 1,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 262,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6 %

GWW stock traded down $16.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,008.08. 285,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 297,396. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,072.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,072.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.