Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 345.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,411,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.1% during the second quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.4% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,158.44 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $800.97 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,137.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,017.80. The firm has a market cap of $56.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related 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 transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 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. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.