Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Increases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,077 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. 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 for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3 %

GWW traded up $2.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,023.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,771. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,078.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,072.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $49.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.