Zions Bancorporation N.A. Trims Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

GWW stock opened at $1,202.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,069.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $985.00. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $772.13 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on 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. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,775 shares of company stock valued at $52,489,979. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.