Centric Wealth Management Sells 26 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Centric Wealth Management lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,266 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares during the period. 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 W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,205.87 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,110.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,002.70. The company has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.