Vista Investment Partners II LLC Acquires 332 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,989 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after buying an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight 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 MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:GWW traded up $13.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,028.72. 375,378 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 249,050. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,056.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,041.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

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.