Canal Capital Management LLC Acquires 52 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Canal Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,082.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,020.02 and a 200 day moving average of $966.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,129.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.