11,178 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,612,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,172.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,082.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $990.71. 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 issued its 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $2.05 per share. 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 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One 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. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

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.