W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Lowered by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.3% during the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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 given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,398 shares of company stock worth $25,116,181. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,120.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $800.97 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,148.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,025.29.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

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.