Foster & Motley Inc. Invests $291,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,478,000 after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $958.32 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $980.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $872.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised 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 note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

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.