Public Sector Pension Investment Board Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,720 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $76,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,205.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,106.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,001.27. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

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.