Magnus Financial Group LLC Invests $209,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in 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 period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,112.93 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,002.92 and a 200-day moving average of $962.39. The company has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,115.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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 research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,030.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.