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

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in 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. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,102.56 and a 200-day moving average of $999.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. 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. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.