Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Invests $326,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $18.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $929.26. The stock had a trading volume of 357,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,078. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $875.13.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

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.