Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 92 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for 0.8% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Hancock Whitney Corp owned approximately 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $22,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,032.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,037.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $970.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $956.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

About W.W. Grainger

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.