West Family Investments Inc. Buys New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW traded up $8.84 on Friday, reaching $932.74. The stock had a trading volume of 129,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,749. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $978.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $879.60. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $45.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger 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.