349 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Bought by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $896.19 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $927.49 and its 200 day moving average is $926.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $959.44.

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.