Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Increases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $937.25. The stock had a trading volume of 39,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $979.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $863.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

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.