Cerity Partners LLC Buys 15,357 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 242.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,357 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,398 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Regents Gate Capital LLP lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP now owns 4,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:GWW traded up $11.84 on Friday, reaching $1,059.71. 324,808 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,274. The company has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,062.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,037.36.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS 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 dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.