Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Has $1.86 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.0 %

GWW stock traded down $19.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $928.65. 357,375 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,833. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $979.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $873.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% 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.