W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $25,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 48.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 136.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 81.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,095.68 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,035.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $972.05. The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $758.11 and a 12 month high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents 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 hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.