W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,058,000 after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,120.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $868.53 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,126.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,056.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

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.