Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,074,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $846,989,000 after buying an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,027,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $706,047,000 after buying an additional 100,380 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after buying an additional 13,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 654,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $364,168,000 after buying an additional 130,519 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $964.97 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $625.97 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $859.14. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens upped 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 report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.