Caprock Group LLC Acquires 19 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,172.40 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,086.44 and its 200 day moving average is $992.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 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. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.