Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $781,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 790 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,687,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 76,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,256,000 after acquiring an additional 22,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the 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 owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 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 W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on 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. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock traded down $7.16 on Friday, reaching $1,035.51. The company had a trading volume of 392,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,154. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year 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 company's fifty day moving average is $1,052.41 and its 200 day moving average is $1,048.70. The company has a market cap of $49.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 declared 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 represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. 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.