W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $848,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,424,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $833.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,138.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,048.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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). 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

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.