Capital Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 31 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $445,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.7%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,085.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,035.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,054.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.