Advantage Trust Co Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 90 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $938.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $7.29 on Thursday, reaching $956.21. 172,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,917. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $976.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.