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

Simmons Bank lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $284,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $806,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,862,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.2% during the third quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,175.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,073.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $986.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.15. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.