3,421 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Bought by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,000. W.W. Grainger makes up 1.0% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,402,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 77.2% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.0% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,044.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,105.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,066.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 41.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.