Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 500 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during 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 last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,095.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,035.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $972.05. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $758.11 and a 1-year high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.85 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

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.