Crew Capital Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Crew Capital Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,500,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $208,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 16.8% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,704,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $988.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,059.45 and a 200-day moving average of $1,076.06. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. 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 company has a market cap of $47.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

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.