Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in 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 period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in 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 buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,198 shares of company stock valued at $41,784,426 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded down $3.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,191.75. 17,371 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,060. The company has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $772.13 and a 12-month high of $1,199.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,045.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $975.98.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business’s revenue 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.87 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

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.