SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19 shares during the quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 16.8% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.1% during the first quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,883,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 24.2% in the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $119,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,094.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,032.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,056.36.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

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.