Captrust Financial Advisors Has $5.47 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $992.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,065.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

About W.W. Grainger

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.