Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Sells 205 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $55,815,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $404,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19,883.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,574,000 after acquiring an additional 35,989 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,714,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 11,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,212,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $59.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,102.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $999.46.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. 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 transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

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.