OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Purchases 319 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 400.0% in the second quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 35 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2,450.0% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 71.24% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $767.19 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $534.01 and a 12-month high of $811.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $706.77 and its 200 day moving average is $712.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $38.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $9.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.85 by $0.58. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 58.02% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.27 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 36.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 3,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.85, for a total transaction of $2,530,588.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,662.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. UBS Group lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $647.00 to $653.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $795.00 to $790.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $734.63.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.