W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $21,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of GWW traded down $10.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $947.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 418,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,314. The business has a fifty day moving average of $980.01 and a 200 day moving average of $872.05. The company has a market cap of $46.57 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

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.