Brown Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brown Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $281,104,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after acquiring an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after acquiring an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $772.13 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,090.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $993.70.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger 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.