Zhang Financial LLC Buys Shares of 208 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Zhang Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.6% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 13.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $648,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,005.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,086.14 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,106.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $999.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $961.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. 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 presently 22.64%.

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.