Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 94 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fiduciary Trust Co reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,714,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,205.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,110.47 and a 200 day moving average of $1,002.70. The stock has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

About W.W. Grainger

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.