Unique Wealth LLC Acquires 399 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Unique Wealth LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,083.54 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,030.08 and a 200-day moving average of $1,057.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.