Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 35 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after buying an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating 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. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,113.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,133.37 and its 200 day moving average is $1,051.69. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $855.01 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 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.