Fiduciary Alliance LLC Buys New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,104,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,815,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 154,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,237,000 after buying an additional 47,053 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

GWW opened at $1,086.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,139.49 and a 200-day moving average of $1,047.21. The company has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $833.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.