Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 448 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 173.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,120.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,008.79 and a 200-day moving average of $963.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,129.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of 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. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.