AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $219,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,043.20.

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 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. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. 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 Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GWW traded up $11.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,110.72. 490,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,915. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $721.99 and a 52-week high of $1,130.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,033.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.74. The firm has a market cap of $54.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.