Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 1,479 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 185.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,099.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,003.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,064.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% 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.