Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Invests $284,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $487,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $332,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 53.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, 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 for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction 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 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $988.48. The company has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.