Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 48 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,099.67 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,003.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,064.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,120.00.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.