W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:GWW traded down $18.58 on Friday, reaching $929.26. 357,385 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,078. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $979.95 and a 200-day moving average of $873.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.