W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,172.40 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,086.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $992.40. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $772.13 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 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 (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.