W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 50.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of GWW opened at $964.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $979.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $858.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $625.97 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

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.