PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $61.17 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $61,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GWW. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,090.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $993.70. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. 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 payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

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.