W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Crewe Advisors LLC

Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after buying an additional 12,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,714,000 after buying an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,206.65 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,098.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $997.28.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company 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 $2.05 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

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.