Bank of Nova Scotia Has $11.60 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 94.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,335 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $11,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.1% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $960.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $994.18 and its 200 day moving average is $1,072.40. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 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 Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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.