Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Acquires 90 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,005.20.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,022.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $987.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $959.51. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,049.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.