California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 2,103 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of W.W. Grainger worth $116,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $988.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,024.86 and its 200 day moving average is $1,077.69. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.