Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 90 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,839,000 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,206.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $775.00 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,113.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,004.11.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.