Crestmont Private Wealth LLC Invests $206,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Crestmont Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. FIL Ltd increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after purchasing an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Syon Capital LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,005.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,085.04 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $994.06 and its 200 day moving average is $960.69. The stock has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,088.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.