W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up 1.9% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $3.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $923.90. 197,226 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,979. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $979.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $879.29. The firm has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.