Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $313,000 Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 38.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $285,574,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $812,403,000 after buying an additional 75,644 shares during the period. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $67,601,000. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,429.9% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 67,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,130,000 after buying an additional 63,515 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,322,801,000 after buying an additional 57,690 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday. Barclays started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $955.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $980.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,016.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.94%.

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.