BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 5,792 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,792 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $68,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.4% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.2% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,251,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,673,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,190.86 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,094.12 and its 200-day moving average is $995.07. 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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). The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.