Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 18 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Moors & Cabot Inc. decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,030.10 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $965.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $955.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $50.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.