Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 849 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 849 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 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. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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 company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $18.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,063.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 157,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,989. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,044.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,050.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend 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 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.