Regents Gate Capital LLP Buys New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,398,000. W.W. Grainger comprises 1.3% of Regents Gate Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $1,035.98 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,101.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,069.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.