Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 53.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,178.33 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,078.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $988.96. The stock has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.