Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000. W.W. Grainger accounts for 1.1% of Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,386,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $1,082.21 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,129.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,020.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $966.93.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.