W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,555 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,749,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 13,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $504,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 352.8% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $320,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:GWW traded up $8.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $940.04. 185,145 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 238,133. The firm has a market cap of $46.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $977.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $883.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.