W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises about 1.9% of Running Oak Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Running Oak Capital LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,565,000 after acquiring an additional 23,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded up $3.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $923.90. The stock had a trading volume of 197,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,031. The stock has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $979.21 and a 200-day moving average of $879.29.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

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.