Austin Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Austin Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 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. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.4 %

GWW opened at $1,122.38 on Wednesday. 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 $1,038.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $973.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $758.11 and a 12 month high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,198 shares of company stock valued at $41,784,426. 9.50% of the stock is owned by 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.