W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,720 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $76,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $295,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $219,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $11.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,205.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,624. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,110.47 and its 200 day moving average is $1,002.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,109.00.

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.