W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $993.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $959.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $954.85. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.