Dakota Wealth Management Buys 275 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 66,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,311,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $437,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $2,237,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $955.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $979.92 and its 200-day moving average is $862.80.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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.