W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Position Lifted by Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV

Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during 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 grew its position 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 during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,307,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,070.56 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,047.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,049.81. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

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.