Bank of Montreal Can Sells 126 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.19% of W.W. Grainger worth $97,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,104,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,216.43 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $772.13 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $59.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,102.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $999.46.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.