Arkadios Wealth Advisors Boosts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $41,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,098.35 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,028.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $968.84. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $710.24 and a 52-week high of $1,129.92. The firm has a market cap of $53.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,043.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger 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 value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.