W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 352.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,353,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.7% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $931.94 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $977.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $883.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

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.