Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,113.05 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,133.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,052.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $855.01 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

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.