Centaurus Financial Inc. Purchases New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. 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, Loop Capital upped their price target 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. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,205.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. 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 52 week low of $772.13 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,106.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,001.27.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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). 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.