Vest Financial LLC Acquires 3,693 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,693 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of W.W. Grainger worth $41,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,160,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,744,000 after buying an additional 6,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

GWW opened at $988.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $956.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $954.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $674.41 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market cap of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.