Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 497 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by 0.5%, now holding approximately 109,674 shares valued at about $108.34 million.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for W.W. Grainger, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering its target from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and JPMorgan raising its target from $1,100 to $1,125.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.26, which will be paid on September 1st, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.23% of W.W. Grainger worth $108,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 980 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $390,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 771 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,799,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE GWW traded down $6.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $975.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,855. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,030.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,025.54.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.