The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 29 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $24,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,365,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,175,000 after buying an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,040.46 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,049.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $981.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $958.94. 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. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.