Twinbeech Capital LP Makes New $54.03 Million Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 51,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,030,000. W.W. Grainger accounts for 0.9% of Twinbeech Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Twinbeech Capital LP owned approximately 0.11% of W.W. Grainger as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. 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 shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,102.43 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,000.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,064.90.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.