Tredje AP fonden Buys 3,120 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 119.5% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,012.63 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 market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $963.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $955.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.