NorthRock Partners LLC Takes $801,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 760 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $801,000.

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $1.99 during trading on Monday, hitting $1,099.67. 185,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,268. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,000.69 and its 200-day moving average is $1,064.90. The company has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. 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 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business'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 owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.