85 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Purchased by Fairscale Capital LLC

Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,032.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,037.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $970.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $956.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

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.