W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $61,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,122.2% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.4% during the second quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 743 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.3% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 246 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,398 shares of company stock worth $25,116,181 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $11.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,092.96. The stock had a trading volume of 727,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,843. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,151.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,028.54. 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 quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

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.