Certuity LLC Acquires New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Certuity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 22,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,274,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $938.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 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 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 owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 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 company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4 %

GWW opened at $923.90 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $979.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $879.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

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.