DRW Securities LLC Makes New $336,000 Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in 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. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group assumed 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. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,216.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. 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 50-day moving average price of $1,102.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $999.46. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid 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 yield of 0.67%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.