Simon Quick Advisors LLC Invests $203,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,915,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 17,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,051,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Puff Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $280,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,063.31 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,044.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,050.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 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 lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.