W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Unique Wealth LLC

Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Unique Wealth LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,083.54 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,030.08 and its 200-day moving average is $1,057.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. 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. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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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