W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 14.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 171,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $178,172,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,090.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $993.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note 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, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.