Saturna Capital Corp Acquires 250 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Saturna Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $85,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,775 shares of company stock worth $52,489,979 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,208.34 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,064.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $983.47. The company has a market capitalization of $58.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly 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). The company 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 revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,058.50.

About W.W. Grainger

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.