Banyan Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 0.3% of Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,718.2% during the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 13.7% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 10,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,081.99 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,130.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,014.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $992.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.