ORG Partners LLC Purchases 246 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 89.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,053.05 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $826.55 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,140.93 and its 200 day moving average is $1,043.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.