Avanza Fonder AB Invests $4.96 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,955,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,140.56.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,113.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 697,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,983. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $855.01 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,133.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,050.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger 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.