690 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Optas LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during 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 during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in 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 position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in 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 lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 Price Performance

GWW stock traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,178.33. 228,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,665. The company has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,073.95 and its 200 day moving average is $986.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

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.