Spire Wealth Management Sells 7,571 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Spire Wealth Management lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 82.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,571 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $3,687,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 116.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,506,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,701,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research lowered 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. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,016.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,055.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,043.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $888.75 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. 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. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.