Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $4.25 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $988.02. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.