Unigestion Holding SA Raises Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 29.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after buying an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital increased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,158.44 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,137.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,017.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 3.27 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

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.