Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 171,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,172,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

GWW stock opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,090.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $993.70.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.