PFG Investments LLC Buys 112 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised 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 worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,098.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $710.24 and a 1 year high of $1,129.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,028.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $968.84.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The company 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%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital raised 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,043.20.

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.