Short Interest in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Declines By 5.5%

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the October 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 208,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,172.40 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,086.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $992.40. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following 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 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

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.