Centaurus Financial Inc. Invests $208,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,205.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,106.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,001.27. The stock has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $772.13 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.