New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 4,721 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,721 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of W.W. Grainger worth $38,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,063 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $958.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $47.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $980.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $872.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Activity

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

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.