Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells 704 Shares of Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $26.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,122.38. The company had a trading volume of 171,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,301. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,038.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $973.17. The company has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $758.11 and a twelve month high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optas LLC boosted its stake in 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 raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,058.50.

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.