Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $967.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $956.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,037.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.