TD Asset Management Inc Buys 373 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 373 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.8% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,633 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,443,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 13.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,456 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.0% during the first quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 4,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,405,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 29.9% during the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,116.25.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 10.3%

Shares of GWW stock traded down $107.29 on Friday, hitting $932.25. 1,263,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,864. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,054.22 and a 200 day moving average of $1,035.63. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.