Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $116,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after acquiring an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 102.1% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,565,000 after buying an additional 23,055 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,809,000 after buying an additional 22,523 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9 %

GWW stock opened at $931.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $977.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $881.00. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.