PFG Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,113.89 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,122.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,063.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.