Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.60 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,078.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

About W.W. Grainger

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.