GeoWealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on 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. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $979.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $987.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,070.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend 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.