Associated Banc Corp Has $422,000 Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Associated Banc Corp lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,916,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,449,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,102.56 and a 200-day moving average of $999.46. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $772.13 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.