Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 116.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,216 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of W.W. Grainger worth $33,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $7.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,035.51. The company had a trading volume of 392,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,592. The stock has a market cap of $49.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $888.75 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,053.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,046.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.