ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New $11.27 Million Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,268,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in 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 acquiring 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 acquiring an additional 27,716 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $942.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,013.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,076.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its 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 business posted $8.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 is currently 21.18%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.