Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 6,902 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Townsend & Associates Inc grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,902 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for 1.7% of Townsend & Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $7.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $956.21. 172,929 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,917. The company has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $976.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $887.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $938.89.

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.