Hancock Whitney Corp Has $22.49 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hancock Whitney Corp cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises 0.8% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $22,487,000 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 the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,372,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,037.23. The company has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $970.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $956.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

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.