W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Position Increased by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,127.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,128.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,008.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $964.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,030.70.

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.