Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 34 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,109.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,136.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,048.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $836.84 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.