Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Takes $244,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $920.30 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $979.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $879.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a PE 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GWW. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $938.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.