Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $157.68 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,295 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 0.8% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of W.W. Grainger worth $157,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital raised 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. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,190.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,094.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $995.07.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.