W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by DE Burlo Group Inc.

DE Burlo Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 54.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 1.1% of DE Burlo Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. DE Burlo Group Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,116.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded up $24.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,049.18. 195,243 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,287. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $986.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,068.84.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio 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.