Adirondack Trust Co. Sells 45 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Adirondack Trust Co. trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 48.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,122.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $866.03 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,127.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,055.98.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

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.