Enterprise Bank & Trust Co Buys 99 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Enterprise Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $848,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,424,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $25.26 on Monday, reaching $1,077.74. 166,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,049. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,139.89 and its 200-day moving average is $1,046.00. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $833.50 and a one year 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 cap of $52.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America assumed 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 objective on the stock. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

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.