Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $271,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $1,741,000. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $3,687,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 496.6% during the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,120.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0 %

GWW opened at $1,035.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $992.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,065.99.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.