YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 284 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 404 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. 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 lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value 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 represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

GWW stock traded down $17.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,024.37. 221,885 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,514. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,054.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,044.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (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.