Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 169 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $37,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $8.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,090.85. 23,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,140. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $687.55 and a twelve month high of $1,129.92. The company has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,020.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $966.93.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

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.