W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Increased by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Optas LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $952.29 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $950.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $953.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $46.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

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.