Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,948,000. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 1.7% of Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,353,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.7% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of GWW traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $948.92. 235,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,648. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $977.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $886.65. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $46.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.