Meritage Portfolio Management Decreases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $24.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $923.20. 154,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,152. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $980.09 and its 200 day moving average is $872.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.