Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 53,729 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1,653.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $60,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $833.50 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,138.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,048.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.