Putney Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,086.40. The stock had a trading volume of 43,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,329. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. 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's 50-day moving average is $1,020.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,061.37.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change 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 is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.