W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by CoreCap Advisors LLC

CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $535,910,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $992.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,065.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

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.