Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,725 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $61,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $15.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,202.35. 287,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,711. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,054.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $979.58. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,210.27. The company has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

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.