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

by · The Markets Daily

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Free Report) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $59.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,102.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $999.46.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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