W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $324,824,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,353.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,502,000 after purchasing an additional 29,092 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.2% in the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 6,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,272,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $11,591,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 527,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,914,000 after buying an additional 22,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,378.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,302.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,237.31. The firm has a market cap of $64.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.01. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend 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 presently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,428.00 to $1,427.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,266.08.

W.W. Grainger Profile

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.