Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Has $841,000 Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third 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 worth $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,266 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,205.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,110.47 and a 200-day moving average of $1,002.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $772.13 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

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.