Hancock Whitney Corp Has $20.81 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 19.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,893 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $10.48 during trading on Monday, hitting $1,217.13. 457,500 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,143. 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 company has a market cap of $59.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1,098.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $997.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.