Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of GWW opened at $954.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $46.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $970.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $903.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.34 EPS 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. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

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.