Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells $1,160,647.68 in Stock

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

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

GWW stock opened at $942.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,013.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,076.44. 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 fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.