Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 20,548 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 140.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,548 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of W.W. Grainger worth $34,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $175,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 293,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $309,363,000 after acquiring an additional 8,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of GWW traded down $16.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,034.43. The stock had a trading volume of 245,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,681. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,061.36 and a 200 day moving average of $1,038.15. The company has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The company's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.