Bank of Nova Scotia Has $4.56 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by **58.1%**, now holding 4,611 shares worth approximately **$4.56 million**.
• Analyst opinions on W.W. Grainger's stock are mixed, with target prices ranging from **$950** to **$1,125** and an overall average rating of **"Hold."**
• W.W. Grainger recently reported **$9.97** earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations, despite a **5.6%** increase in revenue year-over-year.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 58.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,395 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $542,126,000 after buying an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4,053.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 53,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,824,000 after buying an additional 52,612 shares during the period. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,030,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger 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 $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of GWW traded up $6.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $948.75. The stock had a trading volume of 208,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,106. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,040.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,030.07. The firm has a market cap of $45.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 22.94%.

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.