Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,955,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.2 %

GWW stock opened at $1,096.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $53.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,135.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,049.25. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $855.01 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% 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.