Aviance Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 208 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 55.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,172.40 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,086.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $992.40.

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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

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.