Scarborough Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 34 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 34 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,699,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,621,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,838,000 after acquiring an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $925.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $937.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $919.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger 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.