Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s 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 value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

GWW stock opened at $1,206.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,098.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $997.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.