Petros Family Wealth LLC Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 293 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GWW. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on 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, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,000.13. 161,559 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $991.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,071.58.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.