Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 117 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 57.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

GWW opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,125.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,057.85. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $870.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly 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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

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.