IFP Advisors Inc Has $1.49 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 296.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after buying an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 584,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $616,465,000 after purchasing an additional 37,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,035.11 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 50 day simple moving average of $1,061.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,036.41. The stock has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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