Austin Private Wealth LLC Takes $213,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Austin Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at about $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after acquiring an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,700,000 after acquiring an additional 87,189 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after acquiring an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,198 shares of company stock valued at $41,784,426 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,122.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $758.11 and a one year high of $1,130.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,038.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $973.17. The stock has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.