Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 66 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $24,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised 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 valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,518,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 87.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,316,000 after acquiring an additional 17,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,193.18 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $794.00 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,120.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,008.36. The company has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

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.