Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $6.48 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Optas LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $6.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,184.93. 24,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 233,700. The company has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,090.24 and its 200-day moving average is $993.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger'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 firm earned $9.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.