New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 275 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,687,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. Puff Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut 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, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.
View Our Latest Stock Report on W.W. Grainger
W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7%
GWW stock opened at $1,063.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $888.75 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,044.54 and its 200 day moving average is $1,051.84.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 23.21%.
Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger
In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% 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 worth $2,255,320 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.
W.W. Grainger Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider W.W. Grainger, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and W.W. Grainger wasn't on the list.
While W.W. Grainger currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
