Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after purchasing an additional 36,892 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,043.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s 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 value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,100.34 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $721.99 and a 52-week high of $1,129.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,030.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $969.76.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.