Running Oak Capital LLC Has $15.65 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,097.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,019.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $992.42. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,103.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GWW. Oppenheimer upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,045.75.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.