Capital Planning Advisors LLC Buys 228 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Capital Planning Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $1,741,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,122.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $866.03 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,127.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,055.98.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents 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 available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.