W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Boosted by Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 313.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of 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, Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded up $16.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,069.10. 53,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,353. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,139.89 and its 200 day moving average is $1,046.00. The stock has a market cap of $52.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $833.50 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.