Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) VP Sells 9,577 Shares of Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded down $5.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,189.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 264,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,202. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,199.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,045.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $975.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,058.50.

About W.W. Grainger

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.