Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Makes New $225,000 Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,586,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,470,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $902.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $928.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $925.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $674.41 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The company has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.