Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 593 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,102.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $999.46. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $59.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.