Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.60 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after acquiring an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after acquiring an additional 61,400 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $988.02. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $772.13 and a 52-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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15.

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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.