W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $1,741,000. Bancreek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $3,687,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $13.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,066.45. The company had a trading volume of 310,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,489. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $988.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,068.36. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,120.00.

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.