ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 10,690 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 10,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,268,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $797,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $551,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,727,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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 note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $942.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,013.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,076.01. The stock has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

W.W. Grainger 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.