TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases 603 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $979.84 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $987.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,070.61.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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.