Simmons Bank Buys Shares of 287 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Simmons Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $3.19 on Wednesday, hitting $949.08. 171,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 237,835. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $977.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $886.65. The firm has a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Loop Capital cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.