BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $68.24 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.13% of W.W. Grainger worth $68,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

GWW stock opened at $1,190.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,094.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $995.07. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 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.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.