Benjamin Edwards Inc. Invests $3.46 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,192.60 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $58.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,123.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,010.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $794.00 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.93 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. 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.