Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 27 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Financial Advocates Investment Management trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,105.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $747.00 and a twelve month high of $1,130.01. 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’s 50 day moving average is $1,035.68 and its 200 day moving average is $971.79.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.50%.

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.