W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,085.04 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $994.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $960.69. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,088.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. 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 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 transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,005.20.

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.