Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 27 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during 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. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,175.62 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,073.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $986.32. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,775 shares of company stock worth $52,489,979. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.