Concord Wealth Partners Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,353,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $257,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $920.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $979.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $879.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.