Strategic Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.4% during the first quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,095,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 22.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $1,485,000. Finally, Lake Street Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 41.3% during the first quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. 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 report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $4.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $910.87. 21,896 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 240,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $925.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $927.37.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

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.