Mattern Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mattern Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 1.7% of Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,090.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,022.51 and a 200-day moving average of $967.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $687.55 and a 52 week high of $1,129.92. The company has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.