Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 9,270 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $22,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,149.01 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $800.97 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,142.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,019.67. The stock has a market cap of $55.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.16. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 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.