W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up 1.1% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 87.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,316,000 after acquiring an additional 17,195 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 14,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,888,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % 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 dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $4.67 on Friday, reaching $1,144.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,963. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $800.97 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,142.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,019.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

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.