DE Burlo Group Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

DE Burlo Group Inc. cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. DE Burlo Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital increased 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started 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 for the company. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,090.24 and its 200 day moving average is $993.70. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month 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.

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 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 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.