Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 670 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,175.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,073.95 and a 200-day moving average of $986.32. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 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 (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.