Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 141 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,217.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,102.56 and a 200-day moving average of $999.46. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.