Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 140.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,548 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $34,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,042,000 after purchasing an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% in the fourth 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. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,050.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $888.75 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,060.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,039.71.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% 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.

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.