Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Oppenheimer lifted 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.1 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $954.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $979.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $860.94. 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 earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.