W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,874,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.4% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.7% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,078.55 and a 200-day moving average of $988.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.23%.

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.