W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Position Increased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $28,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Bank of America started 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. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,185.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,132.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,014.23. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $800.97 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio 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.