Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 1,394 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 33.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,394 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $6.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1,070.56. 152,705 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,604. 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 one year low of $888.75 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $51.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,044.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,050.76.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. 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 dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost 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.