Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,456,000.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,518,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 87.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,316,000 after acquiring an additional 17,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,109.00.
View Our Latest Research Report on W.W. Grainger
W.W. Grainger Stock Performance
W.W. Grainger stock traded down $4.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,188.43. The stock had a trading volume of 191,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,488. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $800.97 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,126.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,011.38.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 22.23%.
Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger
In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About W.W. Grainger
(
Free Report)
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.
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