Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Buys 500 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1,666.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.9% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $87,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $356,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $959.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $916.54. 60,539 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,948. The firm has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $926.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $927.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.