Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Buys 105 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,045.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,049.19 and a 200 day moving average of $1,049.78. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.