Savvy Advisors Inc. Makes New $220,000 Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,202.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,069.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $985.00. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 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 issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

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.