Vista Investment Partners LLC Increases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,915,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,070.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,047.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,049.81.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

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.