California Public Employees Retirement System Has $116.70 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.23% of W.W. Grainger worth $116,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Busey Bank increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW traded down $30.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $942.43. 451,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,393. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,013.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,076.44. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,130.89.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.