W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,172.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,082.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $990.71. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. 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.