New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 600 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of W.W. Grainger worth $25,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 10,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,134,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares in the last quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, AGH Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,079.42 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,103.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,016.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $992.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

W.W. Grainger Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.