351 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after acquiring an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,565,000 after purchasing an additional 23,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,809,000 after purchasing an additional 22,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $958.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $47.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $980.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $872.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

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.