W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $868.53 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,126.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,056.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

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.