W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Position Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 133.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2,450.0% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $949.92 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $980.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $863.40. The company has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

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.