Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $318,000 Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $316,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’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 $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $958.32. 295,110 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,966. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $979.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $871.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

W.W. Grainger 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.