GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 691,783 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 100,843.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $684,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th 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 period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,084.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,020.41 and its 200-day moving average is $1,061.37. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.