120 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Bought by Curat Global LLC

Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,094.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,032.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,057.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $876.28 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.