Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 290 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by 12.5% to a total of 2,034 shares valued at approximately $2.01 million.
• Institutional investors own 80.70% of W.W. Grainger's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Charles Schwab and Vanguard Group.
• W.W. Grainger's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $9.97, missing estimates by $0.10, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.26 per share.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,322,801,000 after buying an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4,053.3% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 53,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,824,000 after buying an additional 52,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,030,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $15.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $975.82. The stock had a trading volume of 100,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,945. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,032.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,025.85. The stock has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.76 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 22.94%.

W.W. Grainger 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.