W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after acquiring an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,198 shares of company stock worth $41,784,426. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 6.5 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,195.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $764.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,199.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,041.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $974.44.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.87 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

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.