W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $136,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised 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 position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $42,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on 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 raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $772.13 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,078.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $988.96. The stock has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly 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). 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

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.