Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 212 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Captrust Financial Advisors decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,395,000 after acquiring an additional 10,266 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,193.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $794.00 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,117.48 and a 200 day moving average of $1,006.62.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger 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.