Deidra C. Merriwether Sells 1,164 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

GWW opened at $942.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,013.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,076.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,130.89.

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.