D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 43 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted 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 worth $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,034,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Objective Capital Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the first quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 98,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,627,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,205.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,110.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,002.70. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

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.