W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CEO Sells $27,524,551.64 in Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7 %

GWW stock opened at $1,030.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $965.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $955.58. The stock has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,014.11.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,272,000 after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.