Spire Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Spire Wealth Management decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after acquiring an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $571,042,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $392,470,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,334,000 after buying an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 265,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,688,000 after buying an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $16.88 on Friday, reaching $984.92. 313,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 212,389. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $947.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $953.28. The company has a market capitalization of $48.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.