Cullinan Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 21st, 2023

W.W. Grainger logo Cullinan Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 260.0% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 90 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $660.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $502.00 to $679.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $650.00 to $730.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $695.00 to $800.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $688.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Kathleen S. Carroll sold 1,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.56, for a total transaction of $1,134,936.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,359. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 4,623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.66, for a total transaction of $3,072,723.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,739.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen S. Carroll sold 1,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $671.56, for a total transaction of $1,134,936.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,359. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,434 shares of company stock worth $38,315,317. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $673.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $639.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $585.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $440.48 and a fifty-two week high of $709.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 60.13%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 33.29 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.

W.W. Grainger Profile

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W.W. Grainger, Inc is a supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products, with operations in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It operates through the following segments: High-Touch Solutions N.A., Endless Assortment, and Other. The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment is involved in value-added MRO solutions that are rooted in deep product knowledge and customer expertise.