Cerity Partners LLC Sells 399 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $1,205.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,106.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,001.27. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 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.