Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,915,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,281,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,045.75 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $888.75 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,049.19 and a 200 day moving average of $1,049.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. As a group, equities 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.