W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Position Decreased by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,309 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $15.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,087.81. 36,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,014.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,061.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

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.