Running Oak Capital LLC Has $9.58 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Running Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 1.9% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $3.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $923.90. The stock had a trading volume of 197,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,979. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The company has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $979.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $879.29. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday. 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 report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

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.