Segment Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 272 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Segment Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 272 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 59,264 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,543,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,124,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,035.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,053.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,047.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. 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%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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