Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 151 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $116,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $211,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 78.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 11,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,987,000 after buying an additional 5,195 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America began 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. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed 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 for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, 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 value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,775 shares of company stock worth $52,489,979 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,202.39 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 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 firm has a market capitalization of $58.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,069.20 and a 200 day moving average of $985.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.