Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Invests $294,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $55,815,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 19,883.4% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,574,000 after purchasing an additional 35,989 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 11,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,212,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

GWW stock opened at $1,206.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $775.00 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,113.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,004.11. The firm has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.