Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Acquires 26 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $41,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $988.64 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $956.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $954.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

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.