NBC Securities Inc. Buys New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 460 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE GWW traded up $9.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,094.92. 167,722 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,517. The stock has a market cap of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,032.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,057.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $876.28 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 stock 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 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.