W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 938 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.26% of W.W. Grainger worth $107,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. FMR LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,712,000 after purchasing an additional 43,043 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $31,565,000 after acquiring an additional 23,055 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,809,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $955.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $979.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $871.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Activity

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