Aigen Investment Management LP Buys New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,207.68 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,064.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $983.47. 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 company has a market cap of $58.81 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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The firm’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 38.91 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger 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.