Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $204,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $923.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,009.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,076.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.10% 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.