W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,006,000 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America began 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 objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger 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. 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,092.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,129.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,017.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $966.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

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.