Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells 1,164 Shares of Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $942.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,013.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,076.44.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.