Laurie R. Thomson Sells 125 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,078.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $988.48. The company has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

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.