Alethea Capital Management LLC Invests $3.87 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW)

Alethea Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,866,000. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 2.2% of Alethea Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Rand Wealth LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the first quarter. Rand Wealth LLC now owns 5,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 12.9% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 4,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 61.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after buying an additional 4,953 shares during the period. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 35,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,337,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. 79.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) traded up 0.73% on Tuesday, reaching $159.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 54,060 shares. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.35 and a 1-year high of $262.71. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.09. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 5.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post $10.38 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.12%.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. William Blair downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 24th. BidaskClub raised W.W. Grainger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $166.00 to $156.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 15th. TheStreet downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.33.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (Grainger) is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies and other related products and services. The Company offers its products and services to businesses and institutions in the United States and Canada, with presence also in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

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