Bremer Bank National Association Sells 34 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bremer Bank National Association trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Bremer Bank National Association’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,261,000 after acquiring an additional 6,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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 issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

GWW opened at $1,113.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,133.37 and a 200-day moving average of $1,052.65. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $855.01 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 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 Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.