205 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Purchased by Baron Wealth Management LLC

Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 55.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.6% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on 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. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,172.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,082.55 and its 200 day moving average is $990.71. The company has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. On average, equities research 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 firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.