Sunbelt Securities Inc. Acquires 65 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 500.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,586,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $392,470,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $902.24 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $928.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $925.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company 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 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

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.