Brighton Jones LLC Acquires 27 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after acquiring an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 102.1% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,565,000 after acquiring an additional 23,055 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $932.74 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $978.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $879.60. The firm has a market cap of $45.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 1.81 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost 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 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $938.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.