Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 407 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,792,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 536.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 447,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,994,000 after purchasing an additional 377,309 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,372,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,447,721,000 after purchasing an additional 294,558 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after acquiring an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,568.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,122,000 after acquiring an additional 155,143 shares in 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, 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 value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $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 Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded down $2.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,017.30. 165,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $953.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $831.79. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $625.97 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $49.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Stephens boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

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.