Argyle Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Callan Capital LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded down $18.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $929.26. 357,385 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,078. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $876.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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 upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.