W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Short Interest Down 5.5% in October

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the October 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 208,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % 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. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 increased 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 buying an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after buying an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,172.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $1,082.55 and a 200 day moving average of $990.71. The company has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,086.50.

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.