W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Position Lessened by Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $902.24. The stock had a trading volume of 393,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,147. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $674.41 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $928.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $924.92. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.