Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $281,104,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after buying an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $55,815,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.9% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 154,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,237,000 after buying an additional 47,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,053.05 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $826.55 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $51.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,139.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,046.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

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.