W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 847 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,017.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7 %

GWW stock opened at $984.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $948.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $953.63. The company has a market cap of $48.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.