W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,565,000 after purchasing an additional 23,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,809,000 after purchasing an additional 22,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW traded down $10.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $947.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 418,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,314. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $872.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

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.