348 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,086.50.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $772.13 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $988.02.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business 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%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.