Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,192.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,123.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,010.10. 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 1 year low of $794.00 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.