Naples Money Management LLC Acquires New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 available through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $5.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $942.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 260,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $979.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $863.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

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.