Gladius Capital Management LP Cuts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Gladius Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,078.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $988.48. The company has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 22.23%.

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.