Advantage Trust Co Makes New $75,000 Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 90 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $568,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $358,000. Townsend & Associates Inc increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 16,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,021,000 after purchasing an additional 6,902 shares during the last quarter. Hyman Charles D bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,139,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $7.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $956.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 172,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,917. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $976.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.09.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus 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.