W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $281,104,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,190.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,094.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $995.07. The firm has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective 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. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% 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.