Garner Asset Management Corp Acquires 23 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,032,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth $105,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,206.65 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,098.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $997.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

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.