W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up 1.1% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $848,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.1% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,136.75 and its 200-day moving average is $1,048.83. The company has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $833.50 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.