First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 157 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $11,075,000. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,638,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,984,000 after purchasing an additional 8,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital reduced 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of GWW opened at $931.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $977.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $881.99. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

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.