UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Buys New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GWW opened at $955.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $980.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,016.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.