W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Nicollet Investment Management Inc.

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 3.4% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,874,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $219,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction 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 represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,078.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $988.02. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

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.