Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 71.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $730.00 to $760.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $537.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $502.00 to $679.00 in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. 92 Resources reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $785.00 to $800.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $704.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $664.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $440.48 and a fifty-two week high of $709.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $671.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $627.32. The stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.57 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 61.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 35.78 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 5th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.72. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $694.36, for a total value of $34,107,657.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,715,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $694.36, for a total value of $34,107,657.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,715,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.74, for a total transaction of $325,460.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,183,553.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,220 shares of company stock valued at $37,505,841. 9.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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W.W. Grainger, Inc is a supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products, with operations in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It operates through the following segments: High-Touch Solutions N.A., Endless Assortment, and Other. The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment is involved in value-added MRO solutions that are rooted in deep product knowledge and customer expertise.