Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.11 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock traded up $1.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,087.41. 49,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,352. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,020.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,061.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.