ING Groep NV Sells 1,542 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,175.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $772.13 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,073.95 and its 200-day moving average is $986.32.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.