Perigon Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,047.05 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,115.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,066.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 41.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

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.