Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Sells 11 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $938.89.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $7.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $955.98. The stock had a trading volume of 71,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,752. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $976.52 and a 200-day moving average of $887.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $46.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.