CX Institutional Boosts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

CX Institutional grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,112.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,115.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $962.39.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.