W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,090.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $993.70. The company has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given 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 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Loop Capital raised 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

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.