Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.0% during the third quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital boosted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

GWW opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,125.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,057.85. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $870.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. 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.