New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $38,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,565,000 after buying an additional 23,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,809,000 after buying an additional 22,523 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, 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 Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of GWW opened at $958.32 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $980.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $872.05. The stock 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 (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 is presently 20.55%.

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.