Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 72.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $22,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of GWW stock traded down $6.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,142.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 179,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,651. The company has a market capitalization of $55.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $800.97 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,144.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,020.90.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 0.72%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm's 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 transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

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.