Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Raises Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $392,470,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after acquiring an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,595,000 after purchasing an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at $28,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock traded up $19.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $952.53. The company had a trading volume of 32,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,401. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $923.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $939.08. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $959.44.

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.