Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Makes New $7.80 Million Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,795,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE GWW traded up $11.84 on Friday, reaching $1,059.71. The company had a trading volume of 324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,274. The firm has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,062.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,037.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,116.25.

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.