Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 160 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Patton Fund Management Inc. cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 739.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,090,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,545,000 after purchasing an additional 960,833 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,059,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $589,467,000 after buying an additional 16,237 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,035,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $713,379,000 after acquiring an additional 181,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,027,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $706,047,000 after acquiring an additional 100,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 932,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $642,653,000 after acquiring an additional 269,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.24% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $4.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $689.73. 18,728 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,518. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $722.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $703.13. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $483.19 and a twelve month high of $811.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.96 by $0.32. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 60.40% and a net margin of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $4.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 36.03 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 21.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $647.00 to $653.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $795.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $775.00 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $734.63.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.