Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.25 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,090.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $993.70.

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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued 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 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.