Synovus Financial Corp Purchases 326 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Busey Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of GWW opened at $992.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $993.18 and a 200-day moving average of $1,072.32.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.