Advisory Services Network LLC Increases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 641 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 4.9 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $964.83 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $995.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,072.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.