Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Has $5.51 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,296,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 12.2% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,360,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 9,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,006,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,082.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,129.92. The company has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,020.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $966.93.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.