Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st 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. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,078.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $988.96.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % 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. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.