First Interstate Bank Has $327,000 Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

First Interstate Bank trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GWW traded down $4.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,105.07. The stock had a trading volume of 248,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,978. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $53.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,035.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.79. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $747.00 and a twelve month high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% 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.