Vista Investment Partners LLC Has $3.32 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,058,000 after buying an additional 53,729 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in 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 valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,125.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,058.89. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $870.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last quarter. 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.