Adero Partners LLC Raises Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 236.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $988.48. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.