W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Position Raised by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $25,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 2,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted 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 during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

GWW stock opened at $1,032.22 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,037.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $970.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $956.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.