654 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Bought by Concord Wealth Partners

Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $920.30 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $979.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $879.29.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

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.