Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 12 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 12,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 13,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 265,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $952.29 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a market capitalization of $46.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $950.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $953.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.