W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in 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 buying an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after buying an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GWW traded up $5.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,059.42. The company had a trading volume of 125,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,103. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $806.08 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,143.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,041.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.