Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 807 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 160.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,113.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,133.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,051.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $855.01 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.