W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Holdings Increased by Patron Partners LLC

Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 1.2% of Patron Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,402,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,047.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,115.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,066.53. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 41.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 payout ratio 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.