Hohimer Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.7% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 74.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $980,000. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 9,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,161,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,116.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,025.30. 210,594 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,535. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,061.32 and a 200 day moving average of $1,036.75. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. 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. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.