Angeles Wealth Management LLC Invests $264,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 119.5% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $988.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $956.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $954.45.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Baird R W downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,014.11.

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.