Lido Advisors LLC Has $2.58 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Berger Financial Group Inc grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, DE Burlo Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 7,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded down $18.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,047.00. The company had a trading volume of 38,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,181. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $989.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,067.28. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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 was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued 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 0.86%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.