W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Lessened by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,408 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of W.W. Grainger worth $121,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,910,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.3% during the third quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,378.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,419.91. The company has a market capitalization of $64.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,302.02 and a 200 day moving average of $1,237.31.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.31 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Barclays decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,185.00 to $1,172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,266.08.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies for businesses, government agencies and other organizations. Its product offerings include safety equipment, tools, fasteners, electrical and plumbing supplies, material-handling equipment, cleaning and janitorial products, HVAC supplies, and facility-maintenance products.

The company also provides services designed to help customers manage procurement and workplace operations, including product selection support, inventory-management programs, digital purchasing tools, and technical assistance.