Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,104.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $710.24 and a one year high of $1,129.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,025.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $967.91. The company has a market cap of $54.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.