Is W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) a buy?
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Just as necessary, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Furthermore, it’s important to examine the newest info surrounding W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW).
Hedge fund activity in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 24 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, holds the most valuable position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW). Generation Investment Management has a $142.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $106.2 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
As W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has witnessed dropping sentiment from upper-tier hedge fund managers, we can see that there was a specific group of fund managers who sold off their positions entirely in Q1. Interestingly, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth close to $27.4 million in stock, and Matthew Tewksbury of Stevens Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $10.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in Q1.
What have insiders been doing with W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW). These stocks are Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR), Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT), WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC), MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE:MSM), and Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG). This group of stocks are in the industrial equipment wholesale industry and their market caps resemble GWW’s market cap.
